I Hate My Job
by Briar DeVante
Summary: Nico Yates was just a simple man wanting to get through his days as a security guard at St. Jude's Correctional Center. Then, he met a psychopathic child who likes to kill for fun and got dragged away by the child's parents into a world of magic. Notboywholived!Harry Twin!Harry Psycho!Harry Extremely dark material! Manipulative!Dumbledore
1. Chapter 1

**AN: My first fanfiction. I don't own Harry Potter.**

 **Reasons I Should Get a Raise**

In St. Jude's Correctional Facility, a flurry of voices can be heard bouncing off the walls.

"He tore out his eyes…"

"Ate some of him…"

"Guards couldn't save him."

I roll my eyes when I hear the kids talking about the new inmate. They act like this is the most exciting thing to happen in New York. I sigh and push my hands deeper into my pockets.

I'm supposed to feed the kid today. Apparently, the higher ups think the kid is still hungry after eating his roommate's eyes. I've never heard of someone eating another person here. Had it at my last job at a jail but not in a Juvie for delinquent boys. It seemed a little too early for cannibalism.

I bet the kid is in his late teens. Maybe even early twenties if the jails were too full.

This is bullshit. Why do I have to feed the fucking insane kid? If I didn't lose at Saturday poker, there is no way I would be doing this.

I walk quickly down the hall with a plate of horrible smelling grey slop. Maybe this is why the kid ate his roommate, nothing better to eat.

I walk down the busy hallways. The kids were making faces at me and trying to annoy me through the windows. I glare at them and they run away. I'm a pretty scary looking guy at 6'4 and 280 pounds of pure muscle so I'm one of the only guards that the kids listen to.

I enter a key padded door and walk into an isolated grey hallway. I always scoffed at this room, it seemed like overkill for a place that housed kids who took their family's car for a joyride. It had one bullet proof glass wall with a metal door that had a drawer in it to distribute food. The rest of the walls are concrete and there are no windows. There is one sad creaky cot in a corner and a dingy toilet in another.

I fully expect a hulking sulking teenager that is going to try to intimidate me. Instead, I got what was probably the cutest child I've ever seen.

The kid was a little ten year old looking boy. He had a halo of dark curls that framed his heart shaped face. His large green eyes were luminous on his face. A little button nose and a perfect cupid bow for lips. He looked like one of those angels you see painted at museums. Except for, you know, the blood streaking his clothes and body.

The area surrounding his mouth was a light pink. It looks like they tried to clean it off of him. His hands were crusted with slowly drying blood and there was arterial spray on his clothing.

He smiles to reveal pearly teeth that had bits of pink flesh in them, "Is that food?"

He tilts his head to the side, "Do I still get food even when I'm bad?"

I have no idea what to say to the kid. I just am speechless by his appearance and innocent question. If he didn't have the blood on him, I would have thought he was just the sweetest thing.

I shake my head and answer, "Yeah, of course you still get food."

His eyes widen, "But my mommy doesn't let me have food when I'm bad." I'm going to add fucked up childhood to his chart and go from there.

I don't know what else to say but, "I'll make sure you're fed even if you're bad."

He smiles angelically and I seem to have earned a good place in his heart. Which is good because I'm going to have to eventually go in there and take his measurements for his charts.

I place the food in the drawer and close it. He rushes forward and grabs the disgusting slop. I'm going to guess that the kid didn't have any standards because he was digging into it like it was a five star meal. I see his teeth grind the sludge down and I can't help but picture them gnawing on an eye.

The guard who found him will be needing a lot of therapy.

I turn to leave but a voice rings out, "What's your name?"

"What's yours?" I shoot back. It wasn't in his chart and I was curious.

He blinks and his pink lips form an O in surprise, "It's Harry." He says it like he's never been asked before.

I smile at the kid uneasily, "I'm Nico."

I already know that I'm going to be assigned him over the next few days.

Yay, I love it when I'm right.

First, I had to measure and weigh the kid in the cell that same day. The kid is confusing me more and more by the second.

He greeted me when I came in, "Nico, what are you doing?" It sounded like a line from a horror movie but I manage to look casual.

"Get up on the scale and we'll be good kid." I gesture for him to move.

I have to adjust the weight until it balances at 58 pounds. I can't help but feel slightly horrified about that. That seems low even for his age range.

I look at the kid. He's just staring at me like a lost puppy. His big eyes are glistening slightly as he shuffles his feet. I noticed that he hadn't gotten changed or washed up.

I sigh and just continue to measure the kid's height: 46 inches. I frown, that's a little below the average in height too. But the kid has to be ten because that's the lowest age that this place accepts. Unless he's younger or he's just not been fed. Either of them sounds bad.

I assess him. He just looks at me like he expects me to do something. Fuck, don't look at me with those sad eyes. Fuck, I'm too weak.

I get a towel and a new set of clothes for him to change into. I enter the cell and hold them out for him. He just looks at me really confused. I look at him a little more closely, there seems to be a slight layer of grime around him. Even in the little crevices of his ears.

"Kid, wash up." I try to direct him.

"But my mommy used to do that for me." He whimpers.

Are you fucking kidding me?

So I end up giving this kid a sponge bath. I even had to help him into his clothes because he was clueless on how to do that.

He seems really grateful and gives me a big hug when we're done.

I end up leaving the room kinda liking the kid.

The next day, I had to feed him every meal time. The other guards don't want to be around him and I'm the only one that doesn't have anything to lose so I'm the one in charge of him.

He looks up at me every time I come by, "Can you come in here?" Fuck no kid. I still don't trust you after you ate and killed another kid.

He continues to ask at every meal time. His voice become a pathetic whine, "I'm bored. Please."

I try to ignore him.

By dinner time, he's just sitting in the corner nearest to the door, staring at me.

"You're the only one nice to me." He whispered.

I sigh and make a deal, "I'll sit out here and talk to you but I'm not coming in."

He looks overjoyed and approaches the glass as I sit down. We start talking about the basics: what's our favorite color, animal, etc.

Then he asked me, "Why are you working here?"

I smile bitterly, "I can't get another job. I have no college degree and just look scary so I'm here."

"What job would you want?" He asks softly.

I blinked, I hadn't thought of that in a very long time. I have to actually rethink my old life plans that I tucked away a long time ago.

"Social worker." I remember.

He tilts his head, "What's that?"

"It's a job where you help kids that are in bad situations." I explain.

He looks thoughtful, "Would you have helped me?"

I don't know what to say after that and get up to leave.

"Wait, you're not that old. You should still try to become a social worker." He calls out.

"I'm 23, it's a little too late to do that." I wave without looking back at him.

I come back the next day and, sure enough, he's waiting for me.

"What did you used to do before this job?" He seems extra talkative today.

"I was a security guard at a jail for two years and then I worked here for three years."

He perks up, "Did you like that job?"

"Kinda, though I look like a con more than a guard."

He giggles, "No you're not."

I show him my full sleeve tribal tattoos under my long sleeved shirt. He seems impressed.

"I used to slick back my hair and wear my sleeves up." I mock gloat.

He laughs and remarks that I must have looked tough.

"Do you like this job?"

I smile, "Nah, I hate it."

"Why?"

"I'll answer that later."

I find myself morbidly curious about the kid, "Why did you eat that kid?"

He stares at me like it's obvious, "Because that meat's the best meat. Mommy used to feed me it to make me extra strong."

Ok, I'm leaving now. Nope, fuck that. I don't even know if the kid is messing with me but I don't want to chance it.

I quickly leave but catch a final glance of the kid on the way out. He's pressed up against the glass and staring at me sadly.

I walk upstairs and try to relieve the guard of his duty. Try is the key term. The man is arguing with an old merlin looking motherfucker, a curly haired tall man, and a crimson haired woman.

"I don't care what kind of clearance you have! The kid is in isolation for cannibalizing and killing his roommate." Smooth, fellow guard, smooth.

"I want to see my son! I should be allowed to see him!" The tall man yelled.

The red haired woman turned to Merlin, "Albus, you need to show him more ID."

The Merlin-looking man named Albus brought out a little blank piece of paper. The instant he did, the guard stiffened and his entire face went slack.

"Of course you can see him." He said weakly.

What the fuck am I witnessing? What is that paper?

They seem to notice me and Albus walks up and shoves the paper in my face. Da Fuck are you trying to do? I slap it out of his hands.

He looks alarmed and brings out a fancy stick, "Obliviate!"

I just stare at him like he's crazy and glare at him. Albus stares at me like I'm the one that's crazy.

The woman panics, "Albus, what do we do?" She turns to the tall man, "James, do something!"

James points another fancy stick at me and yells, "Incarcerous!" A bunch of ropes shoot out of the stick and wrap around me. "Immobulus!" I can't move and speak. How the fuck is a stick doing this to me?

Then shit really goes down and I start to _float._ Then these bastards leave me dangling in the air. I'm completely immobile and I'm just going to be left up here. They don't even have the fucking decency to let me move so I can call for someone to get me down from here.

I feel offended. I deserve some respect.

Why am I even working here?

Soon, I hear a bunch of footsteps coming towards me. I hope to God that that's another guard because my fellow guard I have is currently drooling and staring around like he's stoned.

But no, it's these motherfuckers again.

James seems to be grabbing Harry and pulling him over to where I am. All I could think was, "Jesus, they are going to sacrifice me."

Instead James, the woman, and Albus form a creepy satanic looking circle around a fucking dime. It's a dingy old dime but they seem to be waiting for some kind of weird shit to happen.

I try to wiggle in the air a little to show my unhappiness but they just don't give a fuck. They are just staring at a dime in silence.

Suddenly James' hand shoots out and grabs onto my ropes. I feel him pull me closer. Oh god, this is getting kinda cult orgy like.

Thank god some other kind of weird shit happened and the whole room started to spin. A lot of colors were flying around and I look at Harry.

In a split second, I swear we connected telepathically, through this connection I answered his question from before, "This is why I hate my job."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

 **AN: Sorry guys, I needed to rewrite this. It wasn't my best work. The Carnivorous Muffin beta'd this chapter.**

 **Meet the Family**

It felt like a hook was attached to my stomach and it jerked me into what I can only describe as a swirling vortex of hell. I couldn't even see the others as we spun in place. It's like being attached to a yoyo except the yoyo is being spun by some asshole kid in an attempt to do the stupidest yoyo trick invented: around the world. I was being harshly pulled left and right, if that wasn't enough to make me throw up then the flashes of light would do it. I could see glimpses of places in the flashes of light: living rooms, forests, and the ocean were some of them I could see clearly.

Suddenly, an opening at the bottom of the vortex could be seen and the falling sensation increased as we were spit out of the tornado. I was falling feet first and could clearly see the rapidly approaching ground.

"Motherfucker!" I screeched. This is my worst fear of dying! I would rather die by being burned alive! God just likes to fuck me in the ass! I have a brief moment of clarity when I realized there was nothing I can do.

I thought I had more time. I thought I could at least get out of my shitty job and try to make it on my own. I had almost paid off the lawyer bills and could've saved for college. Tears gather in my eyes as I contemplate my worthless life. I close my eyes so I don't have to see myself become roadkill.

The impact never came.

I can feel myself slow to a halt. I peeked open my eyes and examine my body. Thank fucking Jesus Christ I'm whole. My hands shake as I unclench them and my blood rushes back into my veins as I cough out a relieved breath.

I shakily exhale and I ended up throwing up what I had for lunch in my still glued mouth. It dribbles out the corners of my locked mouth and I can feel myself almost choke on it. My eyes water as I try to spit it out. A little leaks out and gets on the ropes. I grimace and try to focus on breathing. My mouth is going to taste like ass for a while.

After unsuccessfully coughing a few more times, I raise my head unsteadily and see the most amazing mansion I've ever seen. Even though my vision was still blurry with tears, it didn't distract from the awe inspiring view.

We were outside the estate behind an imposing ten foot, thin, black iron fence. It circled around the grounds and seemed to enclose at least two acres judging by the way it disappeared in the nearby vast forest. The gate is made of the same material of the fence but has leaf designs carved into the exterior. An enormous gold plated P was at the center of the frame and it gleamed almost unnaturally in the afternoon sunlight.

A cobblestone path leads up to the manor and was surrounded by a field of flowers. It smelled like what I imagined the Garden of Eden would smell. There was a disorganized feel to the garden. The flowers seemed to be allowed to run wild and I could see different kinds like lilies, snap dragons, tulips, and other spring breeds. The only well-groomed part of grounds was the white rose bushes that surrounded the home.

The house kind of reminded me of those places you see in the old black and white movies. Like the old English manors where ladies are waiting for their general husbands to return from the war.

The manor was at least three stories tall. The paint was a pristine white and the roof had royal blue tiles. There was many wide glass paned windows with forest green molding enclosing it. A towering gold arched double door greeted you above grey stone steps. There was no way a house like this could exist in New York. The only place I've seen this kind of plant life was in Central Park.

If I could open my mouth, I would be gaping at this place. I could feel a light mist and turned my head to the source. A large fountain in the middle of a crystal glimmering pond was spraying us gently. A willow tree was at the edge of it by the gates and its branches waved lazily.

My brain short circuited from all the beauty. I've never been around this kind of place. I've lived in Manhattan all my life. I never got the chance to even be in the same vicinity of something like this, probably would be escorted out before I even said my name.

This is the kind of place that I would plan out and describe to her late at night in hushed voices. A short ping of pain ran through me, like poking a wound that was still scarring. She would have loved it here.

A sharp scream caught my attention and brought me back from my brief reprieve of reality.

I jerk my head towards the source and see Harry clawing and kicking at James. He bites James' wrist and I could see blood stream from the wound. James yelps and tries to hold Harry tightly.

"Harry stop!" James yelled.

"How do you know my name?!" Harry screeched, he moves onto biting James' forearm and seems to be out to maim the man permanently. I have to wince when the kid actually hits bone and I could hear the impact even from where I am.

James hollers, his eyes are streaming with tears. The woman is panicking and runs over to the gate. She places her hand on the P and seems to be frantically concentrating on something.

Albus hustles over to James and raises the stick above his head.

"NO! Don't restrain him! It'll just make him more scared!" James protests and Albus lowers the stick hesitantly, "LILY! Open the gate faster! We need to put him inside the wards!" He directs to the woman.

The woman, who's apparently named Lily, seems to be still trying to work something out but a few second later the gates swing open on their own. She turns around and pulls out a stick from her pockets. She waves it in my direction and I can feel myself float towards her through the entrance. Her forehead was scrunched in effort and she lowers the stick once I'm beside her. I feel myself jerk to a stop once the motion is complete.

James is still struggling with Harry but manages to wrestle him inside the estate. His arms are now streaked with red and he was grimacing with what must be agonizing pain. I can see a sizeable hole in his forearm. There is a chunk of flesh laying on the ground in a pool of blood. Harry looks demonic as he shrieks and sprays us with the red liquid.

Albus and Lily seem to be in shock by Harry's resistance but she soon springs into action.

She waves the stick once more in the direction of the gate and it closes with a resounding thud. Shit, why do I feel like we're going to be trapped in here forever? Sweat pools down my back as I see James drop Harry to the floor.

Fuck, I don't know why we're here but judging by the fancy house these guys are a bunch of rich bastards. Why would they take a child? Unless they're pedophiles. Shit, we've been kidnapped by some rich people cult that sacrifices and rapes children. I was probably dragged along because I saw the operation which means I'll probably still be sacrificed and possibly raped.

We're definitely not in New York, so I don't even know how to get out of here. They used a fucking dime and made some portal that would put Alice in Wonderland to shame. I don't even know what else they can do to us.

Harry springs up from his crumpled position on the ground. He spits out James' blood at him and bares his red teeth, "Why are we here? What did you do to Nico?!" He screams at them. His eyes are wide and give him a maniacal look. The green of his eyes was a livid contrast to the blood splattering under them. There's still some flakes of James' skin on his teeth.

James was trying to staunch the blood and hissing in pain. Lily goes to him and starts to jerk her stick about in a repeating pattern, "Episkey! Episkey!" She shouts and her voice trembles with tension. I can see a small cloud of steam forming over the wounds as they are miraculously closed like an invisible zipper.

Ok, so the sticks can do things like tie me up, gag me, heal people, and make things float. They can probably be used as weapons. I need to take them away from them and try to open the gate. Lily closed it with one so it should work if I wave it again. First, I need to be unbound though.

I direct my gaze to the old man and give him a pleading look. I try to flick my gaze to Harry in a meaningful way. He seems to get my message and approaches the couple.

"Maybe it is best if we let the man go. We have not made a good impression on them and Harry believes we are attackers." Well no shit. "It may calm both of them if we talked about this in a reasonable manner." He intoned with a grandfatherly voice. Old man, I bet you're the lead pedophile in this whole thing.

I prepare myself as he flicks his wand over me while whispering, "Finite Incantem." I feel the ropes snap off and disappear to some nether regions. I have to first spit the rancid vomit out of my mouth. I can barely breathe with it in me, let alone do what I'm about to do.

I stand up straight and give the trio a gentle smile. They visibly relax slightly. Then I pounce.

I punch James in the temple. His head snaps back as his eyes roll into his head. He crumples to his knees first before he curls up into a fetal position on the ground. His body spasms slightly and his skin looks pretty grey. Hopefully I didn't kill the fucker.

In a heartbeat, I kick the legs underneath the old man. His feet propel up and he's completely horizontal for a second then he crashes to the ground headfirst. A trickle of blood can be seen pooling in the back of his head. His eyes are twitching and open but unfocused.

I whirl towards Lily. She's screaming in utter terror and reaches for her stick. I tackle dive her from the side and can feel the crunch of her skull as it makes impact with the ground. The hardness of the ground with the force of my body weight definitely knocked her out but I need to see if she's alive. I kneel next to her neck and take her pulse, still there. Ok, not a murderer today. I cringe as I stare at her skull. It's oozing blood from a small wound on her temple but I don't think I hit her too hard.

I don't have time to wonder about my morals right now. I immediately start to collect the sticks. I don't know if they're going to wake up anytime soon plus I don't know if it's just her wand that works on the gates.

My heart is pounding as I run over to where Harry is. His eyes are wide and he still manages to look like a cherub despite the blood. Please don't eat me kid. He probably knows that we need to work together to get out of here so I trust that he won't attack me.

I gesture with my arms outstretched. He gets it and raises his arms and I pick him up. I carry him on my waist to the entrance.

I stop and place Harry down. My eyes dart as I examine the imposing frame. I raise one of the sticks and try to replicate the woman's movements. Nothing. Fuck. I get more panicked as nothing happens with the other sticks.

Shit! I kick the ground and pace in place. Shit! What do I do now? My thoughts are racing and then I realized it's a fucking gate. I mean, it's thick but the lock can't be too strong so I can ram it down. 280 pounds of human has to do something.

I back up and steel myself. Harry is looking at me with wide expectant eyes. I hiss out a breath and run full throttle into the gold plated P. My right shoulder hit it first and dear God I think I just saw my dead parents glaring down at me from heaven as the worst shock I've ever felt ran through my body.

I was thrown back and hurtled to the ground. It hurts like a mother fucker to breathe. I can taste metal on top of the earlier bile. My vision is all blurry and I can barely see Harry when he runs over and kneels near my head. He places his hand on my cheeks, and I swear my mind must be really fucked up from the shock because I see her instead of Harry for a few seconds.

Her visage overlaps his and I can see her cornflower blue eyes glistening with tears. Her princess perfect black curls were brushing against my face, "Nico, come on I'm scared." She whimpers. Her little thumb is wet from her chewing on it.

I felt a sharp pain on my cheek and she begins to disappear as my head clears. I look at Harry with shock, the little shit slapped me. I shake my head and try to get my bearings again. Harry is crying and jumps on me to hug me as I get up. I look around with slight desperation, I thought I saw her. Tears burn my eyes as I remember that that's impossible.

I have to take a shaky breath and look down at Harry. His eyes are just like hers. They are filled with the belief that I can make anything bad go away.

Shit, I need to get him safely away from here. I already failed once.

I roll back my shoulders and try to think. Ok, electrically charged fence. No idea where the fuse box is and I can't get to it in time because they might wake up. Maybe I can throw Harry over the fence. He's light enough but what if there's a force field over the wall too?

I whirl around and try to find something to throw. I spot a few sizeable rocks scattered around the field. I trample the picturesque flowers getting to them but I don't give a fuck. I gather them in my arms.

I run back to Harry and give him a reassuring smile. I put one of them in my hands and throw my shoulder back to propel it. It sails through the air and hits six feet above the gate. With a harsh buzzing noise and the smell of ozone it's shot back at us. I dodge it and scream, "Fuck!"

Fuck, fuck, fuck, what am I going to do now? I can't throw Harry higher than that. I can't climb over it with him on my back now that I know that there's a fucking force field over the gate. I make sure to throw three more rocks as high as I could but it just had the same reaction as the first. There's a dome like force field around this place. Of course.

I drop the rest of the rocks. I crumple to the ground and throw my head in my hands. Fuck! FUCK! What can I do now? Sweat gets into my eyes as plans whirl through my head. I harshly rub it away as I stare at Harry. Hopelessness crashes over me.

The kid was probably picked because he has no one else. I mean except his cannibal mother but who else does he have? No one visited him at St. Jude's. No one is worried about him and will worry about his disappearance. Just like her.

I rub my eyes roughly and stand up with determination. Ok, weird Jedi force field over the gate. I can't climb it and I can't throw him. I have the sticks in my pockets. The bastards are knocked out. I could try to run in the forest but I don't want to be an area where I'm just running around in circles trapped. The only place left is the house. I could find a phone and call for help.

I turn to Harry and pick him up. I carry him princess style as I run on the cobblestone path, past the unconscious trio, and to the steps. He jostles in my arms as I kick open the front door.

The front room has a white staircase with cherry wood handrails as the center piece. Chandeliers tremble from the force of my kick on the ceiling, casting shadows around the walls. I can see a mahogany entrance on top of the stair case. Five doors branch out from the stairs on the first floor. Fuck, which one do I take first?

I decide to just randomly pick the second door to the left of the steps. I run into a room with gold vintage wallpaper. I almost trip over a sophisticated mint green couch that was in front of the door. An identical couch is on the opposite wall, and an ornate russet stone fire place is on the wall to the right. An eggshell blue elegant arm chair is near another door. I almost kick the dark colored coffee table in my haste to get the door. My heels click on the dark colored wood floor and echo eerily in the seemingly empty house.

I kick open the door and see a fucking weird kitchen. It looks like I just stepped into the 1800s. The countertops were a black stone material, there was no refrigerator, and there was a wood burning stove with its iron chimney burrowed in the wall. The only modern piece of furniture appears to be two stools whose back design reminds me of the gate.

I decide to find a weapon in case I need to threaten these fuckers. I put Harry down on the stool nearest to me and rummage through the onyx colored wood drawers. I find nothing but gold plated utensils that looked fit for The Royal Family at first. Why the fuck does someone need the handles to have small gemstones on it?

I find a silver carving knife as big as my hand in the last drawer. I put the handle in my back pocket and look for anything else. I open up what appears to be a breadbox with spiral designs carved on it. There is an ice cold pitcher of milk. What the fuck? I put my hand on the bottom of the container but it's room temperature. You know what? I don't care about other fucking LSD inspired things happening.

"Nico." Harry soft voice rings out in the tense silence. I turn around and see stairs that are right next to the door we came in from. Maybe I can run up there and find a phone?

"NICO!" Harry whispers harshly. I turn to him and see him pointing to the dark solid iron door to the left of me past the counter. It was opposite of the stairs and I couldn't see it because the walls were made of dark gray brick. Ok, it looks suspiciously sturdier than the other doors.

Please don't be some sort of dungeon. Please don't be a cult sacrifice room. I brace myself as I open it. Ok, it appears to be some sort of garage. There are numerous creepy medieval looking tools scattered around the ground. I think that's some kind of cauldron. Oh God, they must be eating the kids too. I try to swallow my bile and examine the room for anything I can use.

In the back near a small square window, I can see a thick bundle of rope. Ok, I can use it to tie the fuckers up.

I grab it and run back out the room, dodging the tools on the ground. I go back into the kitchen and turn to Harry, "Stay here. I'm looking for a phone. Don't leave this kitchen unless someone finds you." I can't have him running around with me because I don't know who else is in this house. These fuckers could be running some sort of organization and this is the main house.

I pull out the knives and rope and run back to the front room with the large staircase. Ok, time to just pick random rooms. I go to the door before the living room on the left. It was just a study room with a handcrafted looking cherry wood desk. There's a wide glass paned window leading to the back yard where I can see a giant hedge maze and what appears to be a stadium of some sort. Oh God, they must hunt the kids in there. I shake my head to clear the morbid thoughts. No phone, ok moving on.

I run to front room and turn to the left to enter the first room. It was just a piano room. The piano looked to be modeled for a child and was white. The room was sky blue with light colored wooded floors. A wide window overlooked the flower field and cast rainbow reflections of the garden on the walls. There was an open entrance that connected the adjacent room with this one.

I pause for a few seconds by the piano. Why would they have this here? The more rooms I look at, the more I feel like this is just a house. There isn't any satanic voodoo or bowls made out of skulls. It just looks peaceful like a family lives here. I mean, there's still a bunch of psychedelic bullshit going on but I'm not getting serial killer vibes from this place.

Then why would we be here? Why did they want the kid? What did they do to Jake? Fuck it, escape now and contemplate motives later.

I walked into a small hallway that just had one door that lead to right to the front room and one door opposite of me that lead to the next room.

I trudged past it and tried to not cringe as I thought about all the possibilities of what I could find in this one.

I just see a family room with another large red bricked fireplace on the wall farthest away from me. There two dark leather couches facing each other in the center of the room. Book shelves are all along the walls of the room and add to the warm atmosphere. I read one of the titles of the green scaly bound book closest to me, "101 Uses for Dragon Blood." WTF.

Is this for real? I flip through the first few pages and find elaborate diagrams of dragon anatomy along with recipes for some kind of potions. There was even a list on the back that recommended other related books.

I decide to look at another book. A pitch black one with cracked binding caught my attention. It was giving me a lot of chills by just being around it. The title was, "The Path to Death" by Omar Nadgeeb. The images in it were moving and a gruesome picture of souls traveling through the afterlife was seen. It described spells that Ancient Egyptians used and still use today to combat some kind of demons that want to eat the people's souls. Ok, this is the satanic bullshit that I was looking for!

The author wrote long paragraphs about how the blood of virgins would cleanse the magical aura of estates through a ritual. The picture of a screaming child is not making me feel like this is just some kind fun reading.

Jesus Christ, they're insane! They think they're fucking magical and they want to use Harry and possibly me in a ritual. I don't know why they're doing it in a cozy house like this but I think people who believe they're magicians are too crazy to make some normal decisions.

My main man, we need to calm down. Ok, this house seems to be like haunted or alternate dimension, or some other kind of bullshit that explains all the weird shit that's been going on. Ok, maybe they are magical. Which means that the ritual that they want to do might work and they're going to try harder to kill us. I hold back on my existential crisis.

Ok, no phone here so I can leave. Wait, there's an open entrance by the fire place and it seems to have grey stone steps leading down into a basement. Shit. I don't want to go down there. There's probably not a phone down there anyway. I don't have time for that. That's probably where they are going to kill us.

I start hyperventilating. I'm possibly where they're going to drag us to some ancient magic bullshit room and drain us of our blood. Fuck that shit. I need to get out of here!

A blood curdling scream can be heard from the kitchen. Shit, Harry!

I scramble out into the small hallway and run to the front room. Another scream can be heard from the kitchen as I trip over the green couch in the family room. I basically fall into the kitchen's doorway and freeze with genuine surprise.

Another little kid was being held down on the counter by Harry. He was holding a corkscrew to the kid's throat. Jesus Christ, so they had another little kid trapped here? He probably won't even want to come with us because Harry is going all Joker on his ass and looks like a little gremlin from hell.

Oh god, some of James' blood is smearing on the struggling kid. We probably look like we're going to kill him.

I shake Harry's shoulder, "Oi, stop threatening the kid. We need to find a phone."

The other child's auburn hair is clenched in Harry's hand as he forces his head on the counter. The boy's mouth opens and lets out another shriek. Fuck that hurts my ears!

He's struggling against Harry but the kid seems to be able to hold his own. I push Harry gently back and let the kid stand up.

"Who are you?! Where's my mom and dad?!" He cries. His round framed glasses are askew on his face and his hazel eyes are wide with terror. He kicks me and tries to run.

I lunge at him and place him on one of the stools, "Look kid. We're not trying to hurt you. We want to leave. How did they kidnap you?" I huff out as I try to stop the kid from hitting me.

"I live here! My mom and dad live here too! They'll beat you up!" He spits a glob at my face. I briskly swipe it off and glare at the brat.

"You live here?" He nods and struggles against my grip on his forearms, "Where's a phone?"

His eyes widen with disbelief, "The muggle thing? Why would we have that?" He sneers at me, "We just use the fireplace." Why the fuck would they use the fireplace? You know what? Fuck this messed up Lewis Carroll bullshit.

I shake the kid, "How do we get out of the gates?"

"You can't the wards won't let you! Mummy!" He screams looking around for his parents.

"How do we take down the wards?" I yell at him.

"You can't! Only my parents can." Fuck!

"Who are your parents kid?" I murmur dangerously.

I must have put the fear of God in him because he wheezed out, "James and Lily Potter." He starts to cry.

Damn, I only know two people named Lily and James. Does that mean this kid was taken by them and brainwashed to think they were his parents or are they actually his parents? Ok, I don't have time to think about that. I just need a way out, and if I can, I'll take this kid with me too.

I kick the stool next to the wailing child, "FUCK!" I roar with frustration. The child stops crying and stares at me with a trembling lip. But how the fuck can I get out of here now? I can't call someone because there is no phone. I can't escape because of these ward things. Shit, that means I have to get Lily and James to let me out of here.

I start to pace aggressively around the kitchen. Ok, I have rope. I can tie them up. I can negotiate with them using the sticks. And if things really get bad, I can threaten their lives.

Damn, this is not what I wanted to do. I don't like threatening people. It reminds me of my younger days. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

I cut the approximate length I need from the rope and turn to the red haired brat. I pick him up kicking and screaming. I wind the rope around him and tie him up. I made sure to double knot him so he can't wiggle his way out. I thank my former glory days for giving me the information to properly restrain people.

I turn to Harry, he's still holding the corkscrew loosely in his hand, "Come on. Watch the kid. I need to get the others." I place my hand on his head reassuring him, "It'll be ok. I'll get us out of here." He smiles hopefully at me.

I pick up the squirming brat and place him on the couch in the living room. I round on him and give him the most intimidating look I could muster, "Don't cause Harry any trouble."

He freezes and starts to softly cry. Great, second time I've made the kid cry today. This is probably going in some tally card in hell filed under my name but I hope God can excuse my behavior for the situation.

I sigh heavily and turn around to go out the front door. This is going to be a bitch and a half to do.

After thirty minutes, I have Lily tied up with the kid on the sofa nearest to the door, James on the opposite couch, and Albus in the arm chair. I crack my knuckles and try to get the kinks out of neck. Hauling them into the living room was killer on my joints.

I smile at Harry, "Ok, kid. Let me do all the talking. Just stay there and try not to do anything. After this…" I frown.

Wait, what will happen after this? The kid was scheduled to be tried as an adult. He was probably going to end up in maximum security prison where he could be raped, killed, or turned into something worse. If they manage to plead insanity with him, he'll end up in an asylum. He'll be drugged, psychoanalyzed and never get better.

God, how will he be able to live after this? I mean it's better than being killed here but not much. There's nothing I can do to help the kid. I'm a guard. Not just any guard, a guard that could be seen as an accomplice in his break from prison. I'll probably go to jail. My stomach burns with indigestion. No probably, I'll definitely go to jail.

I clench my hands. How the fuck am I going to explain this? Hey, these creepy fuckers took the kid and me to a mansion and tried to kill us. Oh, and they also have fucking magical powers that seem to control everything. Yeah, I'll be joining the kid in the asylum.

I rub my hands on my face and try to take deep breaths. My whole life is fucked. Not only that, but I have no idea what happened to Jake. You know, the guy who turned into a vegetable by these guy's voodoo. And they were planning to do that to me. They probably still are.

Will I die if they manage to scramble my brain? Or will I be conscious of everything and just not be able to move.

I begin to pace.

Jake looked like he was just really stoned. Is that all it did? Or was he permanently brain damaged? Fuck, what if I end up a cripple for the rest of my life?

And what would happen to Harry if I fail? What if I can't get us out of here? What if they kill me and then take Harry and do a bunch of shit to him? They didn't want me. They obviously wanted to leave me there after they made me into a vegetable. They only seem to want Harry.

My blood runs cold as I imagine how they could treat this kid. Cannibal killer kid or not he doesn't deserve to be tortured here. In my book, letting the kid die here will be the worst thing I've ever done. I would never be able to live with myself.

I eye Harry. He's just staring at me sweetly and swaying back and forth on the balls of his feet. His jade eyes show so much trust in them. He really believes I can get us out of here.

I don't understand him. He kills, maims, and eats people but his behavior just doesn't add up. It's like he doesn't even know what he did was wrong. I think about his mother and how she fed him people. He probably had a more fucked up childhood than I could ever dream.

I can't help but feel pity for him. He was made into this. There's still time. He's young, he can learn to be a somewhat functioning person. Plus, he looks so much like her that'd I'd be haunted for the rest of my life if I don't take care of him.

Then, he puts his thumb in his red stained mouth. Ugh, the blood on his hands and around his mouth is making this not so cute. I try to gently pull his digit out of his mouth but he latches on and stares at me with such a betrayed look in his eyes. Fine, suck on the pedophile killer's blood kid. How did I think he could become a functioning human being?

"Mummy! Mummy, wake up! Please!" The kid is sobbing on the sofa. His eyes are red and his chest is heaving with exertion. He's trying to jostle his mother by leaning towards her and bumping her shoulder with his. Fuck, I feel so guilty right now. Just for the kid, not the rest of the bastards.

I mean he came downstairs thinking it was a normal day and got ninja attacked by Harry, had me yelling at him, tied up like a hog, and now sees his parents come in with blood all over them and probably thinks I'm a psycho killer.

His crying seems to be waking the others up. Lily seems to be the most disorientated out of everyone and can't focus on anything that is going on. James is the most coherent and seems to be alert and ready to fight. Albus seems confused but not as much as Lily is. It's show time.

"What are you doing?! Who are you?!" James screams in my face.

"Bitch, that's what I should be saying right now!" I shoot back at him, "Fuck you! You're the one that brought the kid and me here!"

"Now, now. Please calm down Mr. Nico." Albus stutters.

"Fuck off Gandalf!" I point a finger at him, "You tried to turn me into a fucking vegetable. Are you pedophiles? Why are we here? What are you?!" They sure as hell ain't human after all the shit I've seen.

"Pedophiles?" Lily mutters, "What? Why would you think that?" She asks groggily.

I gesture with my hands angrily, "Because you kidnapped a little kid from a Juvie and took him to your house. Lady, what else do you expect me to think?"

"Wait! Wait! We're not pedophiles! Harry is our son!" James cries.

I narrow my eyes at him. Really? Harry has no idea who these guys are and you expect me to believe he's your kid? I chortle a little. Do they think I'm stupid?

"No really he's our child! He's Mason's twin! Look at them." He kinda leans his body over to the other child in a way of gesturing.

I stare at them with disbelief and decide to examine them more closely. The man has Harry's curly black hair though it's messier. The woman and Harry have somewhat similar green eyes but I'm not seeing a close resemblance. The boy on the couch, on the other hand, I see more of a resemblance to the family.

He has auburn hair, a mix between James' and the woman's shade. He has James' hazel eyes and lean frame. I see James' Roman nose and high cheek bones but the woman's cupid bow mouth.

Besides the mouth, hair and eyes they look nothing like Harry. I mean I believe that the other kid is their kid but I don't see how Harry is their kid. It must have shown on my face so James' says frantically, "Wait! The picture on the mantle! The third one that looks older!"

I turn to the fireplace and look past numerous pictures of the auburn haired kid and his parents with two men that must be relatives. They also seem to be moving and I just don't want to deal with that because I'm done with this nonsense.

I find a lone picture that seems to stand out against the modern pictures. It has an elegant gold leaf frame and says, "Dorea Black and Charlus Potter.", at the bottom of the picture in swooping cursive. The man in the photo looks just like James down to the messy hair. The woman makes me take a step back.

I ogle her a bit and look at Harry to compare. I can't believe the resemblance. She has black perfect princess curls, green eyes that glowed eerily in the frame, soft doll like features and a slender frame. Harry could have been her twin. I give James a look, demanding an explanation.

"That's my parents." He tilts his head, "Now can we get out of this? You attacked us!"

Ok, I think Harry is probably their kid but that doesn't mean I'm letting them go. They probably don't want to hurt him either but who raised Harry then? He doesn't recognize these people so who made him into a cannibal?

Harry is also examining the picture. The woman in it smiles at him and the man waves. I watch the kid's face slowly darken with murderous rage.

"They told me you were drunks," He points to the woman on the couch, "And you were a whore." James and the woman look about to protest but Harry raises his voice, "They said you couldn't take care of me! That you didn't have the resources!" He kicks the fireplace, "You look to be well off enough so why didn't you at least talk to me?"

He takes one of the pictures of the family and throws it on the ground, "Why didn't you keep me?" Takes another and destroys it, "Or even try to find me when I was with Mother! I was with her for six years!"

He runs over to the boy and motions towards him, "You kept a kid I see! Why didn't you try with me? We are the SAME AGE!" He tries to hit the kid. I reach over and pick him up to prevent this.

He continues to scream in my arms, "Why do you want me now?" His face is red and I can see tears glimmering in his eyes, "You didn't before!"

He starts to choke up and cry softly. I hold him closer to me and run my hand through his curls, shushing him.

The room is dead silent. The parents are staring at Harry with a heartbroken look on their face.

"Harry, we couldn't take care of you because it was too dangerous. People were trying to kill our family and we didn't want you to be a target as well." The mother says softly, she seems to have come back into focus. Good, I didn't cause much damage with the tackle dive.

I snort, "Wouldn't he be safer with you then?"

She glowers at me, "Mason was the main target and we didn't want Harry to get involved." She tilts her head to her other son, "We left Harry with the strongest blood wards to keep him safe. We didn't just abandon him!" She says defensively.

"What the fuck are blood wards?" I shoot back at her. Are they a part of the ritual I saw in the book? It made me sick to think a child could have died to put up some magical force field.

This time the old man takes the reins, "We are wizards Mr. Nico. Blood wards are powerful magic shields that prevent detection and harm from other wizards." Ok so they prefer to be called wizards. Damn, I was just going to call them voodoo hoodoo motherfuckers.

I stare at him in silence for a few seconds, "Yeah I can tell by your human sacrifice library." I say flatly.

"What? What do you mean?" Lily is eyeing me like I'm the crazy one.

"The fucking, Path to Death book, by Omar something Middle Eastern last name." I throw up my hands, "Do you want to sacrifice me or something? What the fuck kind of fucked up things are you guys into?" I point a finger at them, "I know you have powers and I want to know if you sacrifice people on a regular basis."

They are just staring at me bug eyed. James is making incoherent noises and just being a useless fuck as usual.

Lily finally gathers the courage to stutter, "That's from my research library. I'm a Charms professor and I needed to work with the Runes professor to see what happened to Harry." Her eyes fill up with tears, "His blood wards failed." She cuts me off when I try to ask a question, "And no it does not require a sacrifice to work. It just means that anyone who shares blood will be protected. That's why I left him with my sister. It wasn't like there were any other relatives."

She stares me right in the eyes, "We're not dark wizards. I just needed more information about blood wards to protect Harry. We didn't know what happened to him so I tried to see if I could reverse the ritual to try and trace his location. It didn't work but we managed to still find him through his mugshot. We would never hurt anyone."

Bitch, you just tried to turn me into a brainless zombie so don't say you don't hurt people! I might not physically be harmed by them but I might be brain damaged by them. And there still is a lot of things that don't make sense.

I stroke my chin, "Ok, so why is this little brat a target? What could he have possibly have done at 10 years old?"

"Mason," She emphasizes his name, like I care, "was involved in a dark wizard's death. He became well known for this and was targeted by the wizard's followers. We didn't want to lead them to Harry." She pleads with Harry, "That's why we didn't visit you."

"Oi, how did the kid end up with his mother?" I'm curious to see who fed this kid people.

"What do you mean? We left Harry with Lily's sister but he was reported missing in London when they went for a family trip. We assumed he lived on the streets until then." The man scrunches his forehead, "He went missing when he was four."

"So let me get this straight. You left this kid with apparently useless people and they lost the kid in London. Tell me why you didn't search the streets for the kid." I roll my eyes at them. Useless fucks.

"We couldn't actively search for him because we were in hiding until a year ago!" James clenches his jaw, "We called the police and they searched for a few weeks but found nothing."

"Really? You decided that your safety was more important that your kid's." I clap slowly, "Great job, you failed at the one thing parents are supposed to do, keep their kids safe." I snark.

These people didn't even care enough to look for Harry after his alleged abduction. How are they going to handle his past? Are they going to lock him away in some facility? I don't even know if I'm going to get out of here alive. Should I just leave them to Harry's mercy?

I shudder. His explosive reaction earlier is kinda an indication of the blood bath that will come. I can see James' severed head in the fireplace. Lily was struggling to breathe on the floor with her guts outside her body. Mason with lacerations all over his body in a pool of blood. If I end up dead without telling them that will definitely happen.

On the other hand, they want to turn me into a drooling vegetable so if Harry manages to avenge my zombie ass, I'm ok with that. But what if he's trapped here? He can't go out the gates without James and Lily. What if he just ends up starving here after scavenging the bodies of his family? Or what if he gets out? He'll tear apart the nearest city and end up filling the streets with blood.

I run my hands through my hair and tune out James' blustering. I have more important things to think about than his worthless excuses.

He just keeps yelling, "You don't know what it's like to be parents!"

Lily seems to be ashamed and at least has the decency to look away from her blood splattered child.

Albus is staring at me coldly, he seems to be calculating an escape route. I have to keep an eye on him.

Mason is just burrowing his head into his mother's shoulder.

And Harry? Harry's just burying his head in my neck. I was still cradling him because I didn't want him to try to kill the group. I rock back him side to side to sooth him. I remember doing this to her, even when she got older, I'd still hoist her up and hold her like a baby.

It's not the same. An image of her running red nose and her watery eyes as she stared at me behind the bullet proof glass flashes before my eyes. I shake my head to rid myself of the vision.

He's a dangerous psychopathic child that somehow trusts me. But she was also a strange sociopathic child that did the unthinkable. No one gave her a chance and look what happened to her.

No, I'm not telling them. It wouldn't do any good anyway. They don't trust me enough to believe me when I tell them the truth. They didn't even believe Jake when he tried to warn them. Trying to convince them would just waste time and make them trust me even less. I can keep an eye on the kid and if I die, well I'll just have to be ok with the consequences in the afterlife I guess.

"Mr. Nico-." I cut Albus off.

"It's Nico Yates. Or Mr. Yates. Don't call me Nico." I growl. Don't treat me like I'm a little kid old man.

He gives me a reprimanding look, "Mr. Yates, we are at a standstill currently. You can't leave the estate without us and we need to be released. How about we talk about this like reasonable adults."

Ok, they can't do anything because I have the sticks in my back pocket. I don't know what else to do. He's right, we can't leave this place.

I put down Harry and cautiously untie them all starting with Mason and Lily and ending with Albus. They all rub their arms where the ropes made impressions on them and stare at me reproachfully. You bastards, don't act like I did something extreme by tying you up. You're the ones that ruined my life.

"What did you do to Jake?" I spit at Albus.

He raises his eyebrows, "Jake?"

"The guard you mind fucked!" I take a step back and grab Harry's hand.

He strokes his beard, "Ah yes the guard. We needed to erase his memory of us. You see we at first tried to find Harry through the guards because we didn't want to obliviate anyone. Memory spells can be a tricky business and there is no telling how people can react." He smiles at me in a faux benevolent way, "When we couldn't do that we decided to go ahead with the plan as a last resort. For some reason, it didn't work on you so we brought you here for monitoring."

He stares at me with twinkling eyes, "I'm sorry Mr. Yates. But we really can't have a muggle running around with your knowledge."

He whips out his hand and makes a sharp motion towards my pants. Before I could react, I felt one of the sticks zip out of my pocket and into his hand. He waves the stick and I feel myself freeze up and unable to talk. Oh god, they don't need the sticks to do magic.

Fear makes my heart start to race. Sweat pours down my face and I can taste something metallic in my mouth. Harry's hand is now trapped in mine and he tries to tug away from me.

He's screaming my name and lashing out whenever the others try to approach me.

Albus goes to the fireplace and throws some soot-like material in it. Green flames appear and he yells, "Severus Snape!"

A sallow skinned greasy haired man's head appeared in the flames. He looked extremely annoyed and was opening his mouth to go off on the man.

"We need assistance in the mind arts." Albus says seriously, cutting him off.

After a moment of consideration, the man steps out of the flames into the living room. He was extremely tall and seemed to only be a few inches short than me. He looks down his large hooked nose at me with derision. He appears to be wearing a black cape.

"Who is this?" He spits, "I am very busy Albus. I don't have time for something trivial."

"This is Nico Yates. He is a muggle that happens to have seen us perform magic. We can't seem to erase his memories and I can't use legilimency on him." Albus starts to pace.

The man raises his eyebrows, "That is strange. Let me have a look." Oh hell no. Get the fuck away from me you little greasy haired fuck or my zombie body with haunt you in the next life.

I glare into his soulless black eyes. The man makes sure to go right up to me and points the stick in my face. I try to convey my utter hatred for him with my eyes. The man smirks maliciously and seems to focus into my pupils. At least he did before he was kicked in the balls by Harry.

He howls with pain and writhes on the floor. Harry continues to kick every inch that he can reach of the man.

"I'll kill you! Don't touch Nico!" The child roars in the man's face. He actually manages to hit the man in the eyes and a trickle of blood can be seen trailing out of the corner of his left eye. The man is clutching his face and screaming on the ground.

James raises his stick to immobilize Harry. Harry freezes but he can be heard screaming through frozen lips.

"That little shit!" The greasy man roars, "I'll kill him!" The man lunges to Harry and Lily runs over and kicks the man in the stomach.

"Don't touch my son Severus!" She growls at him. Oh now you decide to be a concerned parent. So caring when you're about to kill me in front of your two kids.

There is more chaos and Severus keeps on trying to lunge at Harry. Both of the parents hold him back.

"ENOUGH!" Albus thunders.

"Severus, you are going to use legilimency and take the memories out of this man. Then you are going to leave." The old man tsked as though Severus was just being a little unreasonable instead of attacking a defenseless child.

Severus looks venomously at the old man and seems to want to protest but Albus cuts him off with a look. Instead, Severus brushes himself down roughly and straightens his robes. He yanks away from Lily and James' grasp all the while looking at them murderously.

He stalks over to where I am and I can feel true fear chilling my blood. He's not going to go easy on me, not after what Harry did. I can feel cold sweat pool down my back. I quickly lock eyes with Harry. I've failed again. I think about her and feel a sense of desolation.

All of my earlier musing come back. Will I die from lack of brain functioning or end up like Jake and be a vegetable?

I can't believe I can't protect one kid. It seems all I can do is fail. I've failed at saving her, I've failed in life, I've failed in my job, and I failed Harry. I feel tears prickle at the corner of my eyes. I've lived a miserable and short life and no one will remember me.

Severus forces me to look him in the eyes. I feel satisfaction with seeing one of them bruised and bloodshot. His eyes are cavernous and cold. I am so close that I can even see his pupils dilating.

Seconds pass and my breath is hissing out of my clenched teeth. I can only hear the roaring of my blood in my ears.

Suddenly, the man pulls back. The area around his eyes are tight and his lips are pressed in a firm line.

"Has he been trained in Occulmency?" He snaps at Albus.

"No, he is a muggle and he would have to be a master of the martial arts to have any form of shields." He says pensively. He strokes his beard and stares at me.

"It could be just plain bullheaded determination. Strong will power can resemble shields." Severus growls. His eyes hold a dark promise of pain when they lock with mine.

They continue to argue about what to do with me. I'm so relieved that if I could, I would fall down. My vision blurs and I fear that I might actually pass out. They can't touch me. Thank God. I'm so wrapped up in my feeling that I can't hear their conversation.

They seem to reach a decision and James points the stick at me and I can feel only the upper half of my body unstiffen. Harry is released completely and he starts crying while clinging to me. I pick him up awkwardly as half of my body is paralyzed. I cradle him in my arms and shush him softly.

After a few minutes, he seems to stop hyperventilating and sucks his thumb again. The room is dead silent. I glower at the five opposing people.

They don't seem to want to talk right now so I just turn my attention to Harry. He's staring up at me like he wants me to do something. I reach and gently tug his thumb out of his mouth. He tries to put it back in but I just persistently stop him until he gives up.

My mind is still numb with relief and I shaking too hard to truly analyze my situation.

I try to think as I discreetly examine the group under my eyelashes. Dumbledore seems to be deciding if he should just straight out kill me. Severus seems to want to do the killing. Lily is looking down away from my judging gaze. James is staring at Harry with a regretful look in his eyes and Mason just looks terrified of us.

"Well Mr. Yates, it appears that you will be staying at the Potter's home. You will of course be monitored by spells and keyed to the wards so you cannot leave." The old man smiles tightly, "This is an inconvenience but it is a necessary one. Remember Mr. Yates, we are actually on your side. The ministry will be much harsher in their judgement of you."

I'm floored by this new information. I can't even wrap my head around that there is a completely hidden other society that seems to defy the laws of nature, let alone that they are hostile towards people like me. I can't just leave Harry to these people! They're willing to kill me just to keep me from talking.

I imagine a court surrounded by wizards that are chanting for my death. Harry is being dragged away from me as they finally manage to destroy my brain. I can feel pins and prickles in my hands as I flex them.

Ok, new goals. Keep Harry from killing anyone and ending up in a facility, keep out of their way and try not to give them a reason to turn me into a zombie, and try and figure out as much about this world as I can so I can one day escape.

I don't know if I can do this. I don't even know if I'm going to live long enough to do this.

Still, I nod and let them wave their sticks over me; it's not like I have a choice. I can feel a prickling and a hum in the air as they do so. A squeezing sensation can be felt around me and I can tell Harry feels it as well, as he buries his head in my neck.

They appear to be done with whatever they are doing. Severus spins on his heel and leaves through the fireplace with a flourish of his black cape. What a diva. Mason runs upstairs away from the madness. All I'm left with is Lily, James, Dumbledore, and Harry.

"Here give him to us. We'll take him upstairs." James holds out his arms expectantly towards me. I think I just made my whole body scream No without a word. He drops his arms and backs away from us.

"Mr. Yates, it would be better if young Harry bonds with his family," Albus murmurs, "They have been separated for so long." He smiles in a fake gentle manner.

"That's not my fault." I snipe, "They could spend as much time with him as they want. Just not right after what you just tried to do." I glare coldly at them, "You took both of us from our lives and you expect us to be happy about it? Don't act like you're the good guys."

I turn to Lily, "Where's my bedroom?" I dare her to protest.

They seem to have some sort of shame about what they did and let Lily lead us upstairs without much fuss.

We enter a large bedroom with a gold king sized bed, an ornate dresser made of light wood, a soft honey colored wood work desk, and a bathroom attached to the room by the entrance. The walls are a calming sea foam green but does nothing to quell my slowly growing panic.

After Lily leaves without a word, I place Harry on the bed and tell him to wait for a few minutes.

I go to the bathroom and close the door. My back slides down the entrance and I put my head in my hands. I try to concentrate on my breathing.

Ok, magic exists and it ain't that friendly.

Breathe.

I'm immune to the memory erasing spells though.

Breathe.

We can't leave the house now.

We're stuck with these crazy bastards.

I don't know anything about this world and know no one.

Breathe. Breathe.

I have to take care of Harry. I can't let something like that happen again.

Breathe.

I lift my head out of my hands.

Ok. I can do this.

I've been through bigger shit than this. It's not the first time my whole world got flipped upside down. I've been in danger before this is just a new set of threats. They didn't try to physically kill me so I must be somewhat safe. They seem to somewhat care for Harry and probably won't lock him away. I just need to get through the days one at a time.

I stand up and go back to the bedroom. I almost hit Harry as he is standing right outside the door. He blinks owlishly up at me and fidgets.

"Nico, I'm dirty." Oh yeah, his mouth and hands are still stained with blood.

I steel myself to go to Lily and ask for clothes for the both of us. She is in a nearby hallway and seems to be pacing. She jerks up when she sees me.

"Yes, Mr. Yates?" I see some of the blood still in her hairline and feel a little dark satisfaction.

"We need clothes."

Her eyes light up, "Oh of course."

She runs into a bedroom two doors down from mine and then goes to the room at the end of the hall. She comes back with the promised bundle and I nod my thanks curtly and leave.

I come back in the room to a naked Harry trying to unsuccessfully fill up the tub. He can't seem to figure out that the drain needs to be closed for it to work.

I sigh and reach over him to plug it. He looks up and giggles at seeing me. I smile at him, he's a cute kid.

Once he gets in the tub, I squirt some of the body wash that's provided on a small towel and get to work. Harry hums and laughs when I scrub ticklish parts. It's content for a few minutes until I reach to clean his belly.

I freeze. Is that? No. That looks wrong.

My expression must have been pretty alarmed because Harry looks up at me with concern.

"Nico?" He tilts his head.

I can't speak. I can't even comprehend what I'm seeing. My hands start to shake and breathing picks up. Harry tries to snap me out of it, "Nico, Nico!" He calls.

You know, I prefer finding a dangerous magical world to this. I didn't notice when I gave him a sponge bath before because he was sitting on a chair while I did it. But now I can see it.

Someone cut off his dick. I see rough scarring dark red scarring around the entire surrounding area. There is a small hole to urinate but not much else left, even his balls are gone.

I have to sit back. I'm shaking so hard that I can't even hold the towel. I feel like I'm going to throw up. I actually lean over to the toilet and choke out bile.

Who can do this to a kid? How can someone just… They have to have no soul.

The kid seems to realize the subject of my pain and tries to reassure me, "It's because I was bad. I was getting bigger and not really pretty so mommy cut my hair really short and cut me up. It really hurt but I'm ok now." He smiles at me, "At least I can stay pretty longer."

I just stare at him in horror and then lean back over the toilet to throw up what's left in my stomach.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

 **Heart to Heart**

I managed to dry the kid off after throwing up but I didn't say anything at first. I was still trying to wrap my head around the whole situation. I mean my parents were pretty fucked up but they never hurt me like that. Even they had a little bit of love or at least limits to what they would do to me. That didn't apply to her but that's another story.

I don't know what to say to the kid, "Hey, your mom is a really cold hearted bitch." No, I can't do that. The kid obviously still loves her. When he talks about her, his entire face becomes softer and more urgent. I bet he's still waiting for her, wherever she is.

I mull over Harry's mother as I help dress him. Ok, I'm getting Hannibal Lecter type vibes from this woman. All I know is that she doesn't feed him when he does something she doesn't like, she feeds him people when she does decide that he can eat, and that she was concerned with keeping him 'pretty'. Oh God, what if she's a pedophile? I'd kill the woman myself if I find out that she did anything like that to Harry.

Ok, she probably abducted him and raised him for seven years. Probably brainwashing him the entire time. Jesus, how the fuck am I going to convince the kid that she's crazy? This is probably all he knows so he's completely used to her. There's no way I can try to show him that he needs to stop loving her. He's been fucked up by this unknown woman and I have no idea what to do!

This is so fucked up. I don't know if I should just come clean and tell James and Lily everything. No, that's fucking stupid. One, they will flip shit. Like throw the kid in the hospital and possibly kill me shit. They might even think that I did something to the kid. No, I'm on my own.

I don't trust them enough to tell them everything. They were willing to kill me an hour ago, so there's no way I'm rocking the boat.

I don't know if I should talk to the kid about this but I also don't know what to say. His mother chopped off his dick because he didn't look like what she wanted. That's too messed up for me to try and comfort him. He doesn't even think that she did something wrong so he doesn't think he needs comforting.

I can feel more bile rising in my stomach and have to stop thinking about the matter for a bit. I'll deal with this later. I've hit my threshold for today.

I didn't have the guts to approach James and Lily again to ask where Harry's room is. Plus, I'm worried about being separated from the kid. I don't know if they will attack me in my sleep. I don't even know if my immunity to the mind fucking spells extends to in my sleep. I'd feel better if Harry were here to be on the lookout.

Jesus, look at me, hiding behind a child. But he's my only ally that I have in this situation.

Since there's only one bed, I guess we're sleeping next to each other.

I place him on the right side of the bed nearest to the door and go into the bathroom to change. I start brushing my teeth using the toothpaste and brush provided for me. I'm pretty sure the kid won't hurt me if I sleep next to him. But then again, he did kill his roommate. I should ask why he did it to gauge how easily he can be set off.

I spit the toothpaste in the sink and go back in the bedroom.

Harry is sitting up under the gold covers and smiling at me sweetly. His big doe eyes are glowing softly in the dim light of the room. He tilts his head slightly to the side and seems to be sizing me up. I have no idea why the kid seems to smile all the time even when he's upset. It's kind of creepy; he looks like a doll on display.

"Hey kid, what do you want?" I cross my arms and shift my body uneasily. His eyes almost seem to cut in my soul and I feel prickly all over from his scrutiny.

"Why are you nice to me?" His smile fades and he frowns thoughtfully.

I have to consider for a few seconds, "I don't know. You remind me of someone." I feel a sharp pain in my chest, "I just feel like I should take care of you because I didn't take care of her."

His eyes widen and he stares at the covers with his forehead scrunched. I don't think he fully understands my reason, he never had anyone to protect him. His parents abandoned him, his adoptive mother abused him, and I don't even know about the aunt that his parents left him with She could be just as crazy as the rest of them.

I sigh heavily as I try to explain it in a way that the kid would understand, "Look kid, we're in a shitty situation. We are in a fucked up place where everyone seems to be out to get us. We need to stick together and since I'm bigger than you, I have to protect you. Got it?"

He nods after a few seconds of thoughtful silence. Good, at least I drilled that we're on the same side in his head.

It is silent for a few more moments then he whispers, "Who is it? The one I remind you of?" God, I don't want to talk about her.

"She was a very important person to me. I used to take care of her as much as I could. But she… she did something and I couldn't protect her from the aftermath." The last few words caught in my throat a little but I played it off.

She was my greatest failure. I can't talk about her anymore.

He seems to understand that, "I'm sorry. I miss my momma too. I know what it's like to not have anyone anymore." A tiny tear trails down his cheek, "I miss her so much. She's the only one that loves me."

What do I say to this? I can't just tell him that his mother is psycho and she doesn't deserve to be missed, but then again, she forgave her mother for all that she did. She still expected her to come and visit her in jail. I remember her waiting by the door and asking about her every time I came in, only to be disappointed every time. I never had the heart to tell her the truth so I just made up excuses. I couldn't break it to her then and I can't do it to him now.

"Kid, sometimes parents can't take care of their kids." I crouch at the bedside and look him dead in the eyes, "But that's never your fault. You didn't do anything."

He blinks owlishly at me and I can hear him sniffle a little.

"Ok." He whispers, "Why didn't they take care of me?" His eyes turn a venomous hue and his lips pull back into a snarl.

Shit, I don't want to get into James and Lily. I have no idea what their deal is. I think they are full of a lot of bullshit excuses but I don't think they hate the kid or nothing. Still doesn't mean that they ain't shit parents.

I look up at the ceiling, "Yeah, they're bitches." His gaze shoots to my face, startled. He then slowly smiles and starts laughing. His soft musical giggles echo around the room as he covers his mouth with his hands.

I smile, at least I can make the kid happy after this shitty day.

I stand up and get into the covers on the other side of him. His little body feels so cold next to me. I squint at him and gently put my arm over his torso to warm him up. He snuggles into my arm and turns to gaze at me.

I still have to know why he killed that other kid though.

I scratch the back of my head awkwardly with my free hand, "Oi kid, why did you shank that boy? The one you ate?" I'm dreading his answer a little.

He frowns and pouts his lips, "He tried to touch me. He said I was like a girl and wanted to hug me. It felt bad, so I got rid of him." I felt sick to my stomach again. Some of the older boys do tend to prey on the new kids. It's a game well known throughout the facility, with Harry's doll like face, it's no wonder he was targeted.

At least he's not as trigger happy as I thought he was. Doesn't mean that he isn't a psychopath but he isn't aggressive unprovoked. I think I can manage to sleep next to him tonight without getting killed but I'll keep an eye on him.

"Ok, just don't do that to everyone. You can when someone tries to fuck with you." I point my finger at his face, "I mean it. These people can take you away to some place really fucked up. You saw what they can do. I bet their prisons are worse than ours. So don't mess up." I feel bad about telling him this but I have to keep him safe.

He nods with his lower lip stuck out, "Ok, but I can hurt other things right?" He snuggles closer to my arm, "I still need to hurt something."

Thinking the kid meant slugs or some kind of small animal, I nodded and left it at that.

I turn on my back and look at the white ceiling. It was already dark out and the moonlight casts ominous shadows across the room.

I don't know what to do. I don't know anything about this new fucked up world. Maybe I can gather info from James or Lily. Definitely not Albus or that Severus guy though. They better not fucking go near me again. I shudder a little and try to get some sleep. I have a feeling it's going to be busy tomorrow.

I wake to golden sunlight streaming through the window. The bed was facing the window so I got a face full of yellow bullshit. The room was freezing and I dreaded going downstairs, the wood floors have to feel like ice.

I turn and see Harry nestled into my side. His little nose was twitching like a rabbit. He must be having a dream. I smile at the kid and brace myself to get up. He whimpers and tries to cling to me more but I manage to untangle myself. He whines softly but doesn't wake up.

I sigh with relief and head downstairs.

The floors were surprisingly warm like they were heated. Must be because of some kind of magical bullshit. I walk down the stairs into the front room and enter the kitchen from the living room. James and Lily seem to be in a hushed discussion.

James is leaning forward against the counter and Lily is sitting on one of the stools across from him. Both of their heads are close together and they seem to be truly agitated. Lily is chewing on her lower lip and James' eyes are hard. They both turn to me when they hear my footsteps. Judging by the way their expressions immediately went blank, I was the subject of the conversation.

You little shits, it's too early for me to deal with your attitude.

I cross my arms and lean on the doorframe, "Ok, we need to talk." I say measuredly.

They both stiffen and lean towards me.

"What are you guys exactly? Are you still human?" I was wondering if Harry was also a new kind of race or if he can still be normal.

Lily pipes up, "Yes we are human. We just have magical abilities. It doesn't really depend on blood. Some children are born with no magic to magical parents, they are called squibs, and some children are born with magic to muggle parents, they are called muggleborns." She purses her lips, "Children from both magical parents tend to have magic though."

I nod and continue my interrogation, "So is Harry-?"

"Yes, Harry is a wizard. The reason we were trying to find him this year was because he needs to enter school come September." Lily cuts me off.

Wait what. You want to put a homicidal child with a bunch of snot nosed brats unsupervised. Sweat begins to break out on my forehead as I imagine Harry surrounded by a bunch of potential victims. Oh God, I can't let him go to school. Should I tell them? Oh fuck no. There's no way that they'd believe me. Ok, play it cool Nico. Just figure out something by the time school starts.

Maybe by then they would have let me go and I would have had time to explain their kid's past behavior without them locking him. Speaking of which, when are they even going to let me go?

I narrow my eyes at her. It's the beginning of January right now, "What am I going to do until then?" I stiffly raise my arm, "How long will you keep me here?"

They share a significant look, "We don't know. I guess you can just look after Harry. He seems to be fond of you." Lily's eyes are tight when she says this, "I'm really sorry about this. I know we seem like the villains in this, but we are just trying to protect our family. We will make sure no harm comes to you."

I snort, "What about the mind fucking spell you tried to use on me? I could've ended up dying." I glare at her.

Lily eyes widen, "No, you wouldn't have died if we used the spell. You would have just not remembered this incident. Only a really badly placed memory spell would have messed with your cognitive functions permanently."

"But Jake was acting like a zombie. He was a drooling vegetable!" I raise my hands in protest, "He didn't even seem to notice what was going on."

She tries to soothe me, "No, that's a side effect from the spell. We can't just have you alert and still see us right after the spell is placed. He just would have been confused for an hour or so afterwards."

She stands up and tries to reach for my arm, I pull back and she wilts but accepts it.

"Please, believe me. We'd never hurt someone. We just needed to follow the laws." She perks up suddenly, "Here, we will get you a book about the spells from the library. It will show you that they wouldn't have harmed you." She looks at me expectantly.

I nod slowly, "Ok, can I read some other books to know what you guys are talking about?" I might as well milk this opportunity as much as I can.

"Of course. I still have the introduction books from when I first learned I was a witch." She elaborates when I look at her curiously, "I am a muggleborn. I learned about magic when I was 11."

The books will probably be full of propaganda that they give to people like me but I don't really have any other options. At least I'll know about what they're telling other non-magical people. At least I'd know if there was some truth to their words.

"Oh, James and I," She gestures to her husband, "Have decided to give you an allowance. It's fifteen galleons a week, since you can't have a job." What. Wait, are they planning on keeping me here for a really long time? This is starting to sound like I'm going to be here permanently.

I glare at her, "Oi, why the fuck do I need to have an allowance? How long are you guys planning to keep me here?"

"We can't let you leave." She gnaws on her lower lip, "Muggles who aren't related to wizards aren't allowed to know about this world. The Ministry will likely have to hunt you down and either try to figure out how to erase your memory or if it's really drastic, kill you."

My blood turned cold. Even if I get out of here, I'll still have these people trying to hunt me down for the rest of my life. I remember Dumbledore's words, these people might be my only line of defense against this Big Brother like government.

"But am I just going to be locked up here?" I take a step towards her, "You can't just keep me here forever!"

"Hey, don't talk to my wife like that." James gets up to approach me, "It's not like we were planning on having you here."

"James!" Lily rounds on her husband but I'm already pissed.

"Fuck you! You took me from my life! You ruined me! What do you think will happen when I get back? That I'll be able to get my job back and just go back to normal?" I kick the stool next that Lily was sitting in, "I could go to jail because they'll think I let Harry escape! What about my life? You didn't even consider me when you upped and fucked with me." My chest was heaving as I glared at them.

Lily was backing off from me with her mouth agape. She looks down and her eyes fill with tears. James just looks at me with growing anger and opens his mouth to spew more bullshit at me.

"No James. He's right." She cuts him off, "We did ruin his life. The least we can do is help him rebuild it." She turns to him, "We don't even know what the ministry will say about him. We can tell them that he's my relative but will they listen? And we can't just dump him back in muggle society. Not only is that illegal but he still has to deal with the aftermath."

She sits down in the stool and places her head in her hands, "I'm so sorry. This wasn't meant to happen. We never intended to take you from your life."

I felt my anger quell as I looked at her miserable form. I don't trust her still but I think she is sincere in trying to help me as much as she can. According to her, it's this ministry that made her try to use the memory spell on me and won't let me go home. It's bigger than her and James.

Shit, I'm going to have to get along with these people. They're all I have to work with. They're right, it's not like they wanted me here. They are just as helpless as I am. They don't even know what to do.

I try to swallow the lump in my throat, "So, what are galleons?" I say softly.

What good will taking out my anger on them do? They may be the only people that can help me in this situation. I should try not to completely piss them off. There's nothing else I can do.

She raises her head and give me a watery smile, "Galleons are currency here. There are Knuts, Sickles and Galleons. About 17 Sickles to a Galleon and 29 Knuts to a Sickle. A Galleon is about five pounds." She give me a hopeful smile. Ok, lady. I'll try not to be a dick to you if you promise to help me.

James seems to be less friendly and is glaring at me silently by the stove. That asshole is going to cause problems with me later I know it.

I give Lily a friendlier look and nod to her. I can't be too mad at her when she gives me the same look that Harry does. I'll take out my aggression on Albus, Severus and the Ministry. Possibly James, I give him a dark look and he looks like he's ready to fight me.

"We can open a Gringotts account for you!" Lily obviously wants to stop the impending argument, "It's our bank. Muggles that are involved with our society are allowed to open an account. We'll just say that you're my relative."

Ok, that doesn't sound too bad but really? Her relative? I look nothing like her! I am a 6'4, beefy tattooed, tow headed bastard. She's a five foot, red haired, pixie and has a waist slimmer than my arm. I mean, I have green eyes but I still wouldn't pass.

She seems to notice my concern, "It's ok. My mother and sister are blonde. Also, it's not like you have to be a close relative of mine. We could just say that you're my cousin."

I nod at her thoughtfully. Ok, this might work but I don't really want to be closely involved with these people. I don't want to be ingrained in this world before I escape it.

After that, Lily went to give me the books about the magical world. James and I have a stare down while she's gone.

"You should at least be grateful that we are trying our best to fit you in our lives. We'll be prosecuted by the Ministry just as much as you." He pouts like a little bitch.

I feel my temper rising as my vision turns red, "Then you shouldn't have taken me here." I murmur darkly.

"We didn't have a choice!" He screams.

"Bitch, that may be, but that doesn't mean I have to be grateful to you! Shut your pie hole! You still ruined my life." I yell back at him.

His face turns red, "We could've turned you over to the Ministry!" He growls.

"Yeah, but then you would get in just as much trouble considering you fucking abducted me!" I'm getting fired up.

"I don't trust you with Harry! Why was he sleeping in your room?" He roars.

"Because he's scared of you! He has no idea what is going on and I don't want him anywhere near you because you guys be crazy!" The veins in my neck are probably bulging, "You guys literally upped and left him, then he was by himself, and now you guys decide it's a great time to have a family reunion. I think you're insane and I don't want him to be by himself." I'm heaving by the end of it.

Oh, I hope he throws a punch because then I'll destroy him.

"We would never hurt him!" His eyes are blazing behind his glasses.

"Fuck you, you already did. You really think he's going to be normal after you fucked up this bad. He has the right to hate you after what you did." I turn around and go to the living room. He doesn't follow me and I can hear crashes in the kitchen.

Shit, I messed up. I shouldn't have yelled at him. I'm just still really stressed and angry about everything. Ok, keep your cool. You can deal with this. I roughly tug at my hair and try not to go back in the kitchen to kick James in the balls. I remember his crumpled form after I punched him and smile.

I try to take deep breaths while I wait for Lily to return. My heartbeat manages to go down by the time she gets back.

She looks surprised to see me in the living room and her eyes dart to the kitchen door. She smiles at me uneasily and gives me a box filled with thin books and it even has a pamphlet titled, "Magical Schools in Europe." At least I'll know what they're talking about.

I nod my thanks and head back upstairs to read. I just can't stand to be around their bullshit right now.

Harry is waiting for me in the bed. He rubbing his eyes sleepily and glaring at me. It's about as intimidating as a kitten and makes me chuckle a little. His eyes narrow at me even more and he pouts cutely.

"Where were you?" He whines.

"I went downstairs and got books." I toss a random one at him, "We gonna learn today."

He looks at the book strangely. He stares at the covers and is shifting his feet under them while chewing his bottom lip. I just realized that he and Lily have the same habits when they are hiding something or look ashamed.

Should I ask him? Or let him come to me?

I wait a few minutes in tense silence until he turns his head to me, "I can't read." He mumbles.

I blink. Oh, well that kind of makes sense considering how fucked up his childhood is. I bet his mother wasn't really concerned about education.

"It's fine kid. I didn't even know how to read until I was eight. And that was with going to school." I smirk and lean on the door frame with my arms crossed, "I didn't even graduate high school."

I was trying to make the kid not feel stupid but I think I'm just making it worse. Dammit, I'm so not good with brats. Harry looks like someone told him that the world was going to end and it's my fault. I gotta fix this. I grimace when I realize what I have to do.

"Hey, I'll teach you to read and write." I shift my feet while staring at the space above Harry's head, "I mean if you want me to."

Harry stares with his mouth slightly agape at me. Then slowly, his eyes glistened and a smile creeped its way across his face. He turns his eyes to the floor and twists his hands in his lap.

"Ok." He breathes out.

I don't know if I can do this. I didn't even make it to high school. I dropped school as soon as my parents died. Hell, I'm not even sure if I would have passed my last year even if I didn't leave.

I cringe as I thought about my previous school experience. Jesus, I was a little shit. I was that kid that drew dicks in the textbooks and smoked in class with a shank in my left pocket and three girls' numbers in another. The only reason why the teachers passed me was to get rid of me. I doubt I'm even at a sixth grade level in terms of education. How was I supposed to teach someone?

I contemplated just telling the kid to find someone else.

No.

I remember walking through the chipped painted door with its hinges creaking. She could always tell it was me stomping through the dingy hallway of our apartment. Her little footsteps would pitter patter on the roach infested floor of our living room as she prepared to launch herself in my arms before I even got through the doorway.

She would give me a smile that looks like it should have cracked her face. Then, she would ask me to tell her about my day at school. She would twirl around the kitchen, her little worn patched skirt would spin as she danced around the living room.

She never asked if she could go to school.

She just thought she was too bad for school. That she made too many mistakes and that's why her mom wouldn't let her go.

Always making up reasons why her mom wouldn't let her go outside.

Always thinking that maybe if she was good she could go one day.

I remember when she used to ask me about the books I was reading. I would always just say I wasn't good enough to explain it to her.

"Just go back to your room. You're not missing much." I would wave her enthusiasm away like I was annoyed when really I was just scared.

What if her mom caught me reading to her? I didn't have another place to go so if she kicked me out that was that. What if I taught her how to read wrong? I didn't even like reading so why should I even try? I just rationalized why I should say no every time she asked.

Every time, her eyes would dim just a little more.

Every time, her smile would fade by just a millimeter.

I didn't even notice it because I was wrapped up in my angsty insignificant life.

I feel like a needle gorged its way into my heart when I think about what it would have meant to her if I said yes. My eyes burned and I tried to pretend that it was the nonexistent dust in the air.

God, I'm such a fucking bitch. Would it have killed me if I just sat down with her for ten minutes a day? It would have given her some hope, something to look forward to in her messed up life. She didn't even get to talk to anyone else besides me.

I swallow harshly against the lump in my throat. Her face would have looked a little like Harry's does right now. Would she have given me that same soft smile? Would it have made her eyes shine like that?

I sniff loudly and try to ignore the burning in my eyes. I may not be able to go back and say yes to her but I can for him. I just can't stand to disappoint someone like that again.

"Hey kid, I got some books from Lily. It's about some magical bullshit." I choke out, the smile on my face must have look painful with my reddening nose and tears in my eyes, but he smiles back at me.

I place the box on the end of the bed and get in the covers next to him. He's cuddling into my side lightly with his thumb in his mouth. Would she have done that?

I shake my head and reach at the end of the bed to pull out a random book, "Hogwarts: A History". I clear my throat and struggle to figure out how I could explain this to him, "Ok, so every time there is a space between the letters, it means it's a new word."

I point to the elegant cursive capital A on the cover, "That's a letter. Every character you see is a letter except for periods or other kind of shit but we'll get to that."

I look over, he's staring at me attentively as I bumble around with my words. His eyes are wide and focused solely on my face, he only looks down when I point something out on the pages. My face heats up as I try to explain the alphabet to the kid. Jesus, I'm fucking this up. I need to figure out how to not butcher this.

"Ok, so A is the first letter of the alphabet." I mumble and point to the A on the cover again, "It makes an Ah sound."

I glance over again to see if the kid can see through my bullshit. He was smiling around his thumb. His nose was twitching as he listened to me and he was pressed up against my right arm.

Pain flooded my chest. All my excuses I gave her flooded back into my head. He doesn't even care if I'm a bad teacher. He's just excited to learn something new.

My voice keeps on cracking as I prattle on but I stop at the end of the alphabet. His eyes are drooping but he keeps on jerking awake. I tuck him in and ruffle his hair. His chest rises and falls leisurely as he falls asleep. The setting sun was creating shadows that danced across his face.

I can feel a single tear roll down my cheek as I smile at him softly. I think I'll be able to sleep a little better without her ghost haunting me tonight.

Wait, fuck. Sweat pours down my face as my head bobs up. I have to teach this kid how to read and write.

Not only that but, I have to learn about the magical world and then probably teach it to the kid. There's no way he's going to want to talk to James and Lily anytime soon and he has to go to school in like nine months! A school that probably has a bunch of kids that already know about magic! I can't let him fall behind.

I start hyperventilating as I imagined Harry sitting there clueless in class. His little brain whirling as he can't even read the board. Oh God, the teacher would probably just move on even if he was struggling. What if it's like the American School system? Will they call his parents and talk about sending him to a special school?

Oh God. How am I going to do this?

I throw my head in my hands and scream quietly. Should I ask James and Lily? No fuck that. I don't want them to know a lot about Harry. They would probably freak if they find out he never went to school. Their go to is talking to Dumbledore and there's no way I'm letting him anywhere near the kid.

Ok, on my own. I can do this.

I lift my head. I mean, the kid right now just needs to know how to read and write. I'll just do that and worry about magical education later. Yeah, this is going to blow up in my face.

Shit, I need to prepare.

I squirm out of Harry's grip and creep out of the bed. I tip toe down the hallway and hustle down the stairs. Ok, need to find a pen and paper.

I manage to find Lily walking through the living room. She's chewing on her lip and is wringing her hands as she stares at the floor.

I don't have time to ask her what's wrong so I just blurt out, "I need paper and a pen to take notes about the books." She turns around sharply and lets out a little scream. Shit, I should have just made some noise like a normal person.

She has a hand over her heart and is hunched over trying to catch her breath. Her eyes are huge as she ogles at me. Finally, she seems to be able to compose herself and straightens.

She twitches out a smile, "We only have parchment and a quill but I can get you a lot of them so you can get used to them." She chews her lip and I imagine a trembling baby squirrel in front of a wolf for a second.

"Yeah that's fine." I awkwardly rub my hand on the back of my head. Man, I feel like a piece of shit right now. Why did I have to scare her?

She scampers out of the room and turns left, probably going to the study. She bustles back with a huge stack of paper and a handful of feathered quills. Fuck, I'm going to have to learn to write with that.

I manage to smile at her anyway and take the items from her. I hurry upstairs and close the door cautiously behind me. Harry is still fast asleep. His eyelids are twitching as he snores softly.

I sigh with relief and quietly go to the work desk. An old fashioned oil lamp with gold finish is on the corner of the desk. I tweak the handle and it somehow turns on despite me not using a match. I shrug, whatever.

I take out one of the sheets and place it on the surface. Then, I take one of the quills and just stare at it for a few seconds. How the fuck am I supposed to write with this? Don't I need an ink bottle or something, like the old movies? I scratch the paper with the point of the quill and a small black line follows. Ok, so more magic bullshit I'm guessing.

I decide to ignore it and just start scrawling random letters on the paper. I keep on fucking up. My handwriting isn't the best, but with this quill, it's practically chicken scratch.

"Fuck." I hiss out of clenched teeth. This is so fucking annoying. I keep on trying to get the letter right but its shit. The lines are either too thick or too thin and I can't make the curves of the letters like the loop of the O's. It just scratches the paper and makes little holes. If I press too hard, splotches of ink appear and ruin my day.

I keep on practicing and don't even notice when the moon comes out and illuminates the room. I just keep hissing through my teeth as I feel small blisters appear on my hands.

Just one more time. A shitty H is cut into the paper. I throw away the inked page and reach for another one. Ok, maybe this time. Nope, damn I don't even know what that letter was supposed to be.

I cut myself on the sharp edge of the tip a few times and bleed all over the pages but I keep going. I keep going until the room begins to brighten with the sunrise.

I lean back in the chair and huff out a laugh. I stare down at my handy work. Ok, took me a hundred pages but I managed to write the Alphabet on one page without completely ruining it. It's still my shitty slanted handwriting but it's something.

I can feel Harry stirring in the bed and turn around the face him in the chair.

He's rubbing his eyes and yawns cutely. He pouts at me, "Why did you get up?" He growls lightly.

I chuckle with sleep deprived delirium, "Hey kid, want to practice the Alphabet again?" I raise my eyebrows as he hurls himself out of bed and runs over to me. He bounces on the soles of his feet as he glances over my shoulder at the paper.

"I know that one, it's an A." He points at the letter with such enthusiasm I thought he would explode. He chirps out all the letters he remembers and I can't help but be impressed. He remembered twenty of the letters. Hot damn, I'm going to have to hurry up if I want to keep up with him.

I write, the dog barks, on another sheet of paper. I point to the first letter, "Ok, kid. The T makes a Ta sound. Say it with me, Ta." I intoned and he repeats after me, "Ok," I go onto the next letter, "The H makes a Ha sound. Now when the T is together with the H, it makes a 'Tha' sound."

"Why?" His nose twitches as he glares at the offending letters.

"That's just how it is." I flick his nose, "Now the E makes an 'Eee' sound but with the T and the H, it makes an Ah sound."

He rounds on me with his eyebrows raised and his mouth wide open.

I smile, "Yeah, it gets much worse as we go on. Are you ready?" He smooths out his expression and nod with a determined gleam in his eyes. Ok, we might actually do this.

I smile and continue to explain each sound in the sentence. For a minute, I could feel her spirit smiling at me.

Over the next four days, I tried my best to teach Harry. I have to admit that it wasn't completely terrible, I haven't really fucked up yet like teach the kid in my Manhattan accent. I have to catch myself from saying ain't and fuck a lot. I have a feeling that the kid knows more swear than anyone his age at this point.

Not that the kid has a lot of innocence I should be protecting but I still have some standards.

I haven't really slept in the past few nights, too busy reading the books Lily gave me. This shit should come in some order from like the basics of the world and then the harder stuff like their economy. I got quarter through Hogwarts: A History before I realized that I have no idea what Hogwarts really is and why I should be reading about it.

I can tell it was a school because they spoke about students so I found the pamphlet about schools in Europe and looked it up. It turns out it's a school in Scotland and it's where Harry was probably going to attend. It's also where Albus is headmaster which really pissed me off. I don't want Harry to be around him for ten months out of the year. The fucker might try to mess with his head or something.

Another thing that pissed me off was that Albus is seen as like a huge icon in this world. Everyone is raving about him because he defeated some kind of magic German Hitler. Which I guess it's kinda cool, but I still hate his guts. Probably offed the guy because he didn't like Albus' ridiculous colored robes or some shit.

The guy wore a somewhat ordinary olive green suit when I saw him but apparently he wears Elton John looking getup on a daily basis. I mean really? Bright blue dress looking thing that they call robes and they flash moon designs at people.

Another thing, everyone wears dresses here. I mean yeah, it's not called a dress but it's kinda a dress. Haven't seen James wear it yet but I shudder to think what he'll look like. No one anyone is putting me in a dress; I don't like having a breeze down there. Harry's probably going to wear them for school. He'll actually pull it off. I mean, he pulls off Mason's hand-me-downs pretty well.

Speaking of clothes, I really need to get some. I mean James is tall but he's still two inches shorter than me and is way skinnier than me. It's kinda hard to breathe with the shirts I've been getting from him. Plus, Harry is getting progressively shabbier hand-me-downs and we should really get him something else.

I read that their bank, Gringotts, is in a place called Diagon Alley. Some kind of mall like area where I could probably buy some clothes. Maybe I can harass James and Lily into taking me there.

I really need some essentials like razors. I'm already have a nice stubble going on. God, if this keeps going, I'm going to have a full on beard by the end of the month. I have a crooked nose from some fights when I was younger, a beard just draws more attention to it because the rest of my face is covered in hair.

I wonder if I can afford it all on the fifteen Galleons that Lily is giving me. I mean, I have no idea how much this shit is worth. What if a pair of jeans is like ten Galleons?

Ugh, I don't want to think about all this shit. I've been trying to teach Harry and learn everything I can about the magic world, but honestly, I feel like most of it is going in one ear and out the other.

At least Harry is catching on to reading really quickly. He's able to sound out a lot of simple words like cat and dog. He gets mixed up with ones like squirrel though. He's having a hard time trying to figure out how to sound out the words.

And forget spelling. The kid can't even write using the quills. Would it have killed the Potters to get some pens? They don't have to be all fancy, pretentious shits. He just stabs through the paper every time he tries to write. Ink splotches are everywhere by the time he's done attempting a letter.

Yesterday, the kid threw the pen and embedded it in the wall. I've been trying to encourage him and like be patient and all that shit but I don't think it's working. I'll give the kid some credit though. He's a stubborn bastard. He'll keep on writing until his hands bleed.

I smile fondly whenever I see how hard the kid is working. It makes me feel like I'm actually doing something right every time the kid manages to succeed.

Maybe in a few weeks, he'll be able to write simple sentences and we'll start reading one of the books together.

I managed to get halfway through Hogwarts: A History and partway through the pamphlets that they give muggleborns. Honestly, the pamphlets have been super helpful. They really condensed everything down and saved me a lot of time. The only problem is that they don't go into a lot of detail.

They'll say that the Ministry of Magic runs the country but won't tell me when it was founded and how it runs the place. And like how they view people like me and what they will do to me. It says that relatives are allowed to know about magic but it won't tell me what happens to a person that found out about magic and is now being abducted.

Yeah, I bet there was never a situation like this before, figures.

I haven't started on the memory spell books yet. I took one look at the diagrams of the brain and said hell no. There's no way I'll be able to understand that. I couldn't even get through the Hogwarts: A History book without getting a headache and it uses pretty simple words.

I mean the book is all bullet points and time lines so a page is really like a quarter of a real page. Even though it looks thick, it's actually really easy to read through. That doesn't mean I'm understanding anything. It won't tell me how the school is run, like which classes Harry's going to take and who are the teachers. So it's kinda bullshit.

I sigh and continue writing down notes for the pamphlets. Right now I'm reading about wands and now know that they are the sticks everyone's been waving around. Apparently, everyone gets a wand when they are eleven and they can't use magic without them. Well bullshit, Albus used magic without his wand.

Is it because he's kind of like Gandalf here? Or is this some kind of propaganda the ministry hands out to muggleborns? Judging by the way Lily and James are acting, the ministry might be some kind of dictatorship.

Ugh, my head's hurting again. It's three am and I've been doing this since seven. Harry went to bed early and I've been free to study. I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to teach this back to him.

I'm probably going to fuck up. I don't even understand the basics about this society. Let alone the real important questions like how legal it is to keep me captive here. Judging by Hogwarts: A History, the wizard world is kinda backwards about muggles. Apparently, one of the founders, Salazar Slytherin, wanted to ban muggleborns from going to Hogwarts. And there is a lot of issues with muggleborns even today.

I'm so screwed. I'm going to have to stay with the Potters if the rest of this world is this fucked up. At least they haven't tried to throw me to the wolves. Better stay low and try to figure out how this world will treat me if they find out.

I push my chair back harshly and hiss out a breath.

I think I was a little too loud because Harry started to stir. He sits up with a lot of effort and blinks at me groggily.

I smile sheepishly, "Hey kid, just working on a few things here." I wave at him awkwardly.

He rubs his eyes and yawns, "I'm thirsty." He mumbles while stretching.

"Ok, get up and I'll get you some water." I stand up and crack my back. Shit, that chair is really messing me up. It's like sitting on a rock.

Harry hasn't been leaving the room unless I'm with him at all times. He insists on being carried on my hip and doesn't even try to talk to his family. James and Lily have been consistently approaching him and trying to get him to talk but he just glares at them venomously and buries his head in the crook of my neck.

They've been getting more and more impatient. James looks like he's going to explode and Lily looks like she wants to cry all the time.

I mean, what do they expect? It's not like the kid is going to run right into their arms. They still did leave him at his aunt's and never visited him. They are pushing it way too hard. They need to chill a little and just try to not be seen as a threat to the kid.

I look down and see Harry with his arms raised expectantly. I pick him up and balance him on my hip. He buries his head into my shoulder and sucks his thumb.

I can't help but smile at the kid. He's really been on his best behavior. I mean he's not friendly but he hasn't killed or hurt anything yet, and he doesn't say anything completely disturbing so I count the last few days as a win.

I go downstairs into the kitchen and am floored to see the other kid sitting on one of the stools.

What's his name again? Starts with an M and it's super pretentious sounding. Maddox? Makenzie? Shit, I'll just call him Ginger Fuck.

Ginger Fuck is glaring at us like he had something crawl up his ass and die. His nose is wrinkled like he smelled something foul. Well, fuck you too you little shit. Why are you even up?

"Why are you here?" He directs towards Harry with his nose upturned.

Harry glowers silently at him and I just give him a droll look.

"What? Too busy to talk to us?" He rolls his eyes, "You know, Mum and Dad don't really want you here," He gives a sideways glance towards Harry's way, "They had to take you back because you needed to go to school but if you were a squib, they would have thrown you away." He smirks at the end of his speech like he won something.

Oh you little shit. You think you're all high and mighty don't you?

I flex my muscles at the little shit and his eyes widen a little. He tries to act flippant about my silent threat but he scampers off to upstairs.

Ugh, he definitely takes after James. Poor Harry has to share DNA with that rat.

I look down at Harry. His eyes are focused on the floor and his thumb is out of his mouth. He doesn't say anything but the atmosphere is charged with unspoken words.

"Hey, that little shit is just trying to make you mad." I gently pet his hair, "He probably is over compensating for something." I smile at the kid but he seems to be still in deep thought.

He finally looks up, "It's ok. No one likes me." He says casually.

I felt a knife stab my heart when he said that, "I like you." I reassure him.

He jerks in my arms and stares at me with bewilderment. His mouth becomes a hard line and he whispers, "No you don't. There's nothing to like."

I tilt his head up so he's looking directly in my eyes, "Kid, I don't like a lot of kids." I smile at him softly, "They usually are screaming or just annoying me so when I say I like you, there's got to be a lot of good things about you." I finish off and gently ruffle his hair.

His entire expression seems to seize up. His eyes are wide and his mouth is slightly agape. His little nose is wiggling again and he doesn't seem to know what to say so I just go around the counter and get him a glass of water.

It's silent as we walk upstairs. The moonlight is flooding in through the hallway windows and gives off a more somber mood.

Harry doesn't say anything when I tuck him in bed with the glass on the nightstand. He just stares at me soulfully. It really fucks me up to think that no one ever told him that they liked him before. To be honest the kid is pretty easy to like. Homicidal tendencies aside, the kid is stubborn, brutally honest, and pretty smart. Some people might find those traits to be a little annoying but I like that about the kid. He's his own person and doesn't take shit from no one.

I smile at him, "Night kid." I ruffle his hair.

I think I finally reached an understanding with him. We are on the same side and need to look out for each other. We may not be holding hands and frolicking through flower fields and shit but I think I'd actually enjoy looking after the kid for however long I'm here.

I get under the covers and feel Harry begin to burrow himself into my side. I stare up at the moon through the wide window and I can't help but feel a little better about my situation. It's still fucked up but at least I'm not completely clueless anymore.

Lily and James will at least protect me from the ministry even if it's just to save their own skin. They gave me some information about this world and we have an understanding to try and stay out of each other's way.

Ok, I think I can do this. Just keep my head down and try not to get killed. I mean to be honest, I'm kinda giving up on going back home. I mean I'm screwed the instant I get back there. I don't have any savings and will probably be homeless. Not to mention that I'll be jailed if I try and go back to my job. Also, with my education, there is no way I'm going to get another decent job without going back to my other shady profession.

Yeah, I'm screwed at this point. It looks like this is really my only other option. Maybe after a little bit they can use their magic to get me out of the situation. Or I'd have saved enough money to go into hiding after all this is said and done.

I sigh and close my eyes. Ok, Nico. Just get through the days and survive like you always have. This is actually not the worst situation I've been through. I fall asleep to the sounds of Harry's snores.

"Stay away from me you little fuck!" Oh God, it's starting again.

I squirm in my seat at the dining table as Harry decides to go on another swearing tirade against Ginger Fuck. Over the last three days, he's been swearing at everyone except me. Jesus, it's so my fault that the kid got that kind of dirty mouth.

If looks could kill, I would have already been killed four times over by James and Lily. They are on the opposite sides of the table in the middle of passing some biscuits to each other. They pause in the action and stare at Harry with disbelief.

"Harry! Don't say that!" Lily gasps. Her bottle green eyes are huge and her mouth is agape.

Harry sneers at her, "Then tell the bastard not to go near me." He points at Ginger Fuck, "He's a little bitch and should know it." He narrows his eyes at her, "And don't try and talk to me. It's not like you're my mom."

Jesus! Ok, that's it.

I pick Harry up by placing my hands under his armpits and swing him out of his seat I don't even look at the rest of the family as I hustle him quickly out of the dining room. The room is disconnected from the rest of the house. It's extra fancy like that and is actually only connected by a narrow hallway that leads to the family room and is behind a bookcase.

No idea why it has to be so secret but I'm not going to question their interior decorating. This was supposed to be a kinda truce between the Potters and us. Harry has been hostile towards them over the last few days and I can tell that it's really upsetting James and Lily.

If I'm going to have some kind of working relationship with them, I'm going to have to have Harry behave at least a little.

I rush upstairs and plop him on our bed, "What the fuck was that about kid? I told you to not talk to them today if you can't be nice." Honestly, I've given up trying to get Harry to like his parents. There's too many unresolved issues and I'd take him just straight up ignoring them again.

He crosses his arms and glares at me, "I don't want to." He throws himself back on the bed dramatically, "I hate them so why should I be nice to them? You swear all the time."

Ok, he's got me there. Half of my words tend to be swears but I need to make him cooperate if I'm going to get them to let me out of the house anytime soon.

I crouch next to the bed and look at him in the eyes, "Look kid. Do you want to get out of here?" He nods solemnly, "Then, you don't swear at James and Lily even if you hate them. Just ignore them and talk to me."

He opens his mouth to protest but I cut him off, "No, I want to get out of this house and get some clothes that fit. Do you have any idea what it's like wearing James' clothes? It's like having a permanent wedgie." He giggles a little at that.

"And kid, why would you even want to be anything like me?" I add with my eyebrows raised.

He gnaws at his lower lip, "Because you won't like me if I'm not like you." He mumbles while not looking me in the eyes.

What? When did I say that?

"Shit kid, I don't want to see a mini me walking around. Just be yourself." I tilt his head up so he's looking into my eyes, "When did you get that idea?"

His bottom lip trembles a little, "Because mama didn't like it when I acted like me." He starts to fidget anxiously. Honestly, I'm not surprised that he's terrified of her. I can tell that the kid was beaten or something. He just flinches whenever I look angry at him. I managed to school my face but I can still tell he's nervous sometimes.

I have to nip this in the bud, "Kid, I mean it. Act like yourself. I liked you just the way you are." He jerks his head up and evaluates my words. I make sure to stare directly at him and to not even blink. He seems to at least know that I don't want him to act like me even if he doesn't fully believe that I like him.

I steer the conversation back to his behavior, "Come on, we'll be able to get more books for you." Not that the kid could read them but that doesn't mean I won't do it for him. I've been reading him the pamphlets and he just looks all excited whenever it's story time.

Sure enough, his eyes light up and he considers my words.

I pick him up and take him back downstairs. Hopefully we can salvage this evening.

Lily and James are arguing in the front room. I can hear their voices from all the way down the hall.

"Harry doesn't know a lot about magic James!" Lily's exasperated voice floods the room.

"I know! And that's why it'll be good for him! He'll see that it's not threating and we'll be able to get his wand. Lils, we need to try harder to get him to see he's a part of the family." I can imagine James pulling at his hair.

Damn, these people fight all the time. It seems like every morning I'm interrupting something.

Harry seems to become more agitated by their words, "I'm not their son." He whispers darkly. I can tell he's about to freak out so I decide to interrupt by heading down the stairs.

They are both facing each other with their arms crossed and their eyes hard. They whirl around when they hear my footsteps. Their eyes soften slightly at the sight of Harry.

"We're just wondering if you want to go to Diagon Alley." James stares Lily down when she tries to protest. Seriously dude, she doesn't think this is a good idea. Wait, they better take me with. I think Harry might just go on a rampage if they take him out in public. Oh God, they would never make it back. Then I'm stuck here forever in this hell hole.

"I'm going with." I grunt. Yeah, it's for all our survival as you can see. Plus, I need underwear and some razors.

James is about to violently deny my demand but Lily steps in.

"Of course you can." She glares at him with murder in her eyes. I can practically see their silent argument. Umm yeah, don't leave me here.

I think Lily just wants me to go because Harry will freak out and it won't be a pleasant experience. I can just imagine the toddler style tantrum he's going to throw. Plus, they want to bond with him. It's kinda hard when your kid is screaming and trying to kick you because you forgot the help.

Whatever, I'll take it.

They look like they're going to have a throw down so I just high tail it back upstairs.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

 **Beta'd by The Carnivorous Muffin**

 **Magical Walmart**

I can tell that I'm going to have a shit day before it's even dawn. First of all, Harry had a nightmare and clung to me all night.

"They're going to lock me away and forget about me." He sobs softly into my shirt.

"No one is going to lock you away. You got me kid." I tilt his head up and try to calm him down but he just cries even harder.

"I can scare away anyone. It's what I did at my job." I rub the back of his neck and shush him quietly.

"They don't care. He's scarier than anyone." He? When was there a guy in his past? I couldn't exactly question him in this state so I just focused on getting him back to sleep.

It seemed like I couldn't do anything to make him feel better. I would rock him in my arms, then pace, and even sing Kalinka softly under my breath. I couldn't help but think about all the times my mother must have done this to me. Jesus, I have new respect to all parents everywhere.

Harry would just whimper for a few minutes then try and meld his body into my arms. Sometimes, he would get pretty close to choking me and I would have to push him away slightly which would freak him out and then it'd start the cycle over again.

This lasted for an hour and there was no way I was going back to sleep so I just continued to rock him on my hip even after he was quiet. Honestly, it soothed me just as much as it did him. I had to jerk myself awake every few minutes but I managed to make it two hours before I gave up.

The sun was shining stubbornly through the drapes and I decided to just get dressed because the day was starting, with or without me.

I tuck Harry back into bed, taking great care to not wake him. His eyes are still pink from his crying and he'll definitely have a headache today.

I think back on the scars, both emotional and physical ones that he has. I probably know him better than anyone and even I don't know about everything he's been through.

I sigh heavily and get dressed.

Wow, this is probably the worst outfit they gave me yet. I have to shake my head and laugh a little. Damn, I've worn some pretty shitty clothes but I still don't want to be caught dead in this.

The entire outfit looks like it's made out of really fine material. The button down long sleeve shirt is made out of maroon cotton. The pants are black and look pretty business savvy, probably also made out of cotton. The only problem with this is it looks really worn out. Not quite hobo but definitely not well cared for. There's places on the fabric that have worn down from use and appear almost shiny in the light, especially around the knees and the elbows.

Well at least it doesn't fit too badly. I pull on the shirt and only have to grunt a little to button it. The pants were an inch too short and I had to suck in my stomach to get it on but hey, it works. I turn and look at myself in the mirror.

I have to make a face. I look like I'm at least thirty years old maybe even mid-thirties. Jesus I actually look close to James and Lily's age. It's the fancy but grungy clothes that look like something a business man would wear on his off days. The scruff on my face totally does not help my appearance.

You know what? I'd probably look older than my age anyway even if I was dressed normally. I've always be assumed to be older because of my height and brawn. Not only that but, my crooked nose, dark expression, and sharp jawline have always had me pegged as older. Before I looked like a man that would take your wallet, now I look like someone that you would call daddy in the bedroom.

Ugh, I'm so disgusted by myself.

I sigh and just sit down on the bathroom floor.

Ok, going to some magical mall where we can get some clothes and the wands that James mentioned then we go home. Sounds simple enough except we are both sleep deprived, Harry hates being around his family, I'm going to be around some wand wielding maniacs, and I literally have no idea how they're going to react to me.

I place my head in my hands.

Ok, it's going to be ok. I mean James thinks this is a good idea and Lily isn't stopping it so it can't be too bad. Except James is a little fuck that can't even keep track of his kid and Lily basically just goes along with everything.

Ok Nico, at least they are also worried about their lives and would probably not do something to endanger them. At least they will protect you because they don't want to get fried by The Ministry.

Yeah, and it's not like I'll let Harry out of my sight. I'll just calm him down. Just don't die.

I get up with a groan and head to the bedroom.

Ok, it's show time.

Harry is still snoring softly under the covers when I enter the room. He startles a little when I close the door and I curse myself for being so heavy footed. Jesus, I just wanted to give the kid a few extra minutes. One of us has to be somewhat well rested or this day is going to end in a bloodbath.

He whines about being woken and I decided that it's better to just get it over with so I walk over to him and pick him up. He's burying his head into the crook of my neck and whining in a higher pitch.

Yeah, this is going to be a shitty day if we already feel like crap.

"Come on kid. It's time to go shopping."

"No." He bashes his head into my shoulder repeatedly while groaning, "No, go away."

Ugh, come on child. I end up placing him on the bathroom floor. He flops down on his back like the little diva he truly is. I just sigh for the fiftieth time today and get his clothes from the dresser. Lily places them there every day and I can't help but be creepied out about the thought of her coming in the room while we're not there.

I plop them next to Harry and reach over to pull him into an upright position. I've been doing this for a week now and am pretty much an expert. Once I've wrestled him into his clothes, I look and cringe a little when I see what he has on.

The shirt he's wearing is worn down and has much lighter patches. Since it was originally navy blue, the sky blue patches make it look really awful. His pants are beige and the knees almost have holes in them.

These clothes are probably three years old. Mason is pretty tall for his age and has a least a foot on Harry. They're probably reaching the end of the barrel at this point.

Ok, we both gonna look ratchet today.

We get downstairs to the living room where everyone is gathered. Harry is basically hanging in my arms like a limp noodle but hey, we're here.

Ginger Fuck's eyes are shining as he bounces obnoxiously around the room. James just looks like he's dreading this trip and Lily is smiling forcibly. Yay, the party is complete now.

"We'll be using floo travel today." Seeing my confusion, she continues, "Floo travel is throwing the floo powder," points to a little pot on the mantle that seems to be filled with soot, "into the fireplace and yelling out your location. So you'll stand in the fireplace and say 'Diagon Alley' then throw the floo powder and the flames will take you to the location."

…

The fuck is this shit? I'm going back to bed.

I start to turn around and just go upstairs but Lily quickly adds, "I'll go first and show you how it's done!" I'm so going to regret turning around but I do it anyway and watch Lily crouch in the fireplace.

She clears her throat and clearly says, "Diagon Alley." Green flames engulf her and I jump back and turn around to position Harry away from the fire. You know, when she said the flames carry you to the place, I thought you were gonna like be going through a portal not being set on fire!

I'm out. No way, I ain't gonna risk my life just to be wedgie free.

"It's your turn. Go on, we have a lot to do today." James sighs irritably. Oh you little fuck, don't you dare act like I'm being irrational here.

I glare venomously but step into the fireplace, being careful not to hit Harry's head on the corner. He sits up straight and wraps his arms around my neck.

We share a look.

Yeah kid, me too.

I grab the soot like material and cough when some of it goes in my mouth. Magic shit or not, it doesn't taste any different than dirt to me. I'm still coughing when I shout, "Diagonally." Shit I fucked up.

Good job Nico, you had literally one job. Now we might end up in someone else's home and we're going to be completely screwed. I'm sweating bullets by time the flames surround us and I feel like when we first teleported here. A hook was attached to my stomach and it jerked me around as we spun in place. I could see the living rooms of many homes flash as we were engulfed with poisonous green light.

Then, we're pushed out of the fireplace and I have to reach out a hand to steady myself while holding Harry. His grip tightens around my neck and I almost choke from the force of it. Jesus kid, suffocating me will not help this situation.

I catch my breath and try to stop the floor from swaying. I look around and instantly know that I'm screwed.

The entire place looked like that creepy basement your estranged uncle hides his blow up dolls in. It's dark and smells of mildew. The floor is made of dark wood but looked like it should have rotted away years ago. A thick layer of dust was on every surface and floated in the air, creating a fog.

Oh God, that looks like a motherfucking hand on that pillow.

Fuck this, I whirl around and try to find the nearest exit.

"Welcome to Borgin and Burkes, how can I help you gentleman today?" A rattling disembodied voice whispers and I have to fight from screaming. I turn around and see a decrepit hunched over old man who seems to be wearing a gray dress. His eyes are an eerie electric blue and it locks onto me.

No, I did not sign up for this shit. Ok, just play along with him and we can leave without ending up with our hands for sale.

"Just looking for a," Shit, what's a witchy sounding thing, "cauldron?" Harry is practically choking me so the last part comes out a little wheezy but the man seems to be excited by my request.

"Excellent choice. Come with me." He gestures to a back room and I can't help but think that all the horror movies tell me that this is a bad idea. Still I'm not getting serial killer vibes from the man and I really don't want to piss him off so I reluctantly enter the dingy poorly lit room.

There are pots everywhere like piled on top of each other from the floor to the ceiling. This place was pretty small about as big as our bedroom but it managed to bulge with the items. All the pots are gleaming like they've been freshly polished and they shine in what little light the room provides.

Ok Nico, pretend to browse and then leave.

Harry stirs in my arms. I look down and see his cat like eyes staring up at me. Oh, I know that look, he wants something.

I cautiously let him down on the dirty floor and he immediately runs over to this medium sized bronze colored cauldron. It had strange characters around the rim of it that seemed to glow blue. There was even more figures around the entire surface of it that glowed in different hues. I look closer and it almost seems like the thing is made up of sections. Each piece had an image on it and it looked almost like a puzzle.

"Ah, I don't think he'd want that." The man shifts his eyes nervously, "It's a very temperamental instrument."

"What is it like cursed or something?" Get that thing away from him if it has some freaky voodoo shit. I reach to grab the cauldron away from him but the man speaks up again.

"No, No. It's just not a lot of people have the patience to learn the art of the Romani potions." I look at him with my brows raised, "This is a Romani cauldron. Every part of it is made up of runes that can change the composition of it. So right now it looks like bronze, with the right combination it can turn to gold and so on and so forth."

He chuckles, "It can even bolster the effects of potions. The only problem is, no one knows the language of the cauldron except the Romani. The wrong combination can spoil potions or even blow them up."

While he was explaining, Harry was pressing the sections seemingly randomly but with a look of intense concentration on his face. Kid, he just said it could blow things up. I reach to grab it out of his hands but the pot starts to glow brightly. It seemed to fold in on itself and a new layer of metal melded its way on top of the previous bronze layer. It looked like some type of black material and once it set in, the runes stopped glowing as brightly.

Harry smiles cutely, "See now it looks like a real witch's pot!" He chirps.

The old man is just gaping at the kid. His eyes are bulging and I'm kinda worried he's having a heart attack.

"How…?" He gasps.

The kid tilts his head to the side, "I just asked it to look different and the letters started glowing like they wanted me to press those one first. So I did and this happened."

I clear my throat, "So, can we get a discount on that?" It works and the kid seems to really like it so I'm going to try to leave with it.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, the man seems to come back to his senses and smiles tightly at us, "Regardless that is a rare item, the last wizard that owned it was renowned in his field. A hundred galleons will suffice." Hell no.

"You just said that no one is able to use it before." I raise my eyebrows at him and lean in, "I don't care about it being famous or nothing. I just need it to work besides, the kid just turned it into any old cauldron. Who would buy that? You can't even turn it back can you? How are you going to prove to anyone that it's a rare item?" Looking at the thing, it looked even more dingy than before. It was pitch black and had a rough bumpy texture. Besides the characters on it, it just looks like a rusty old pot.

He seems to get nervous and his forehead starts to gleam with sweat, "Then that means you have caused damaged to this item and I must ask for compensation."

I laugh, "You said that being able to change was what was so special about this thing. Someone tests it and you say we ruined it? No level with me here." I step closer towards him and he leans back despite himself.

"You said that thing is temperamental. Let me guess, it fucked up a lot of people's potions and they kept on returning it. You've been trying to get rid of this thing for years." Why else would he have warned us it wouldn't work? A guy like him doesn't care if we get fucked over. Unless he was yelled at before and doesn't want to deal with that.

"Look, it works for the kid, we aren't going to return it or yell to the world that your cauldrons are shit. Just get rid of it and we'll be on our way." Now he's really sweating. I can so tell he'll do anything to get rid of this thing but he also wants to make money. I decide to push it a little further.

"How many people are going to come here and ask for this cauldron? When's the last time you sold it? I bet a lot of people heard about this thing and just assumed that every cauldron here is shit. Not a lot of people come here anymore looking for them. Get rid of it and then your sales will boost." I'm making shit up but it's one of my only talents. After a few seconds, he finally succumbs.

"Fine, take it." He mumbles as he disappears into the back.

Huh, apparently wizards have a level of bullshit that they can't tolerate either.

As he leaves, I feel like someone is watching us. I felt it before when Harry was playing around with the cauldron but now it feels more intense like something woke up. I shiver and ignore the sensation.

I need to get out of here.

I grab the cauldron and hold it in one hand while picking up Harry with the other. The kid wraps his arms around my neck and nuzzles his nose into me. Ok, just find James and Lily.

A door with a yellowing glass window seems to be our exit so I creak it open and head to the streets.

Jesus Christ, this is a circus show and I've seen some weird stuff in New York. There were people walking around that didn't even look human. An old woman wearing a brown cloak was selling teeth on the side of the street. A man with glowing gold eyes and scales was buying some red liquid that looked suspiciously like blood from a vendor. And people with fur all over were just walking casually around.

I just put on my ultimate fuck-with-me-and-you're-dead look and just barreled down the street. Every time someone looked at us strangely, I gave them the darkest look I could muster. They practically ran away from us.

Good, run bitches.

One shop catches my eye; it's a small brown stone building with viridian tiles on the roof. There was one large window that displayed numerous multicolored bottles lining the shelves. The sign declared, Esmerelda's Potions, in dark gold letters on the door. It was the cleanest store around and it really stood out with its warm atmosphere. I shake my head and try to focus on escaping this place.

I speed my way through the bustling streets. The crowd seems to get my message and parted like the Red Sea. I managed to steer us into a much brighter looking area and I could see a plaque that read, Diagon Alley. Sweet, so I didn't completely fuck things up.

There was an enormous rabble of people that seemed to be focused on one thing. I try and get a closer look. The noise seemed to be freaking Harry out as he grips me tighter.

Maybe this isn't such a good idea. I almost turn around to head in another direction when I hear, "Mr. Potter! Are you excited for school?" Oh shit, I spin around and try to weave my way through the people. Bright flashes nearly blinded me and I looked over to see huge camera that looked ancient, just being aimed into the center of the chaos.

Harry whines and rubs his eyes. I can feel him shaking and his breathing is picking up. I try and turn him away from the flashes but it seems like a wall of light. Everywhere I turn there is another reporter pushing his way towards the center. They push us around and seem to want to eject us from the crowd.

Ok, go time. I roll my shoulders back and basically muscle my way through the crowd. People protest but I ignore them and finally make it to the center.

Sure enough, the Potters are standing there. Ginger Fuck seems to be in his element and is answering the questions like a seasoned veteran. Lily and James are looking around anxiously and manage to lock on to us.

"Oh thank Merlin you're ok!" Lily rushes over to us and starts fussing, "I should have made sure you knew what to do. You're not injured are you?"

James mutters under his breath, "He was the one that messed up. He just had to say two words." Fuck you, I'm still learning this kind of thing. I glare at him but decide not to pick a fight with this many onlookers.

The paparazzi all turn their attention to me.

"Who are you and why are you here with the Potters?" A curly blonde haired woman with red horned glasses points her enormous quill at me.

I give Lily a desperate look and she just gives me a somewhat guilty look on her face. Judging by the way her and James are looking at each other, this lady is bad news. Really? I'm on my own on this?

I clear my throat, "Nico Yates, a cousin of Lily's." My voice sounds rough but they don't seem to care as they edge closer to us like a pack of wolves. I back off a little but quickly realize we're surrounded and decide to just stand close to Lily.

"I didn't know Mrs. Potter had a cousin!" The same woman raves, "Would you mind giving us an interview? We would love to get an inside look." Her fingernails claw into my arm as she tries to physically drag me away.

"No thank you." I growl and yank my arm away from her. She looks scandalized and her photographer snaps a few pictures of my disgruntled face. Her quill is now moving on its own and is writing something on a floating notepad. I peek at what it's writing.

"The Potters are letting a mentally damaged cousin live with them? Child is in cousin's arms. Maybe Lily is trying to cover up an affair and is trying to mask the man as a relative?" The quill scrawled on the paper and I can't help but get even more pissed off.

No Nico, don't freak out. That'll just feed more rumors. Just deal with this and move on. I stand there stiffly and gently cradle Harry in order to distract myself. He has a strange cold expression on his face. His eyes slowly begin to glow and his mouth upturns in a mischievous smile.

"We're going school shopping!" He chirps and jumps down to stand next to me. He looks positively angelic as he pulls us right over to the cameras. I try to get the kid to stand away from these vultures but he still strongholds me over to them. I keep on forgetting about this kid's strength.

"What is your name?" The same bitch croons patronizingly at him.

His sweet smile widens and his eyes take on a puppy dog like look, "I'm Harry! Nico is taking me shopping today. We're going to get some books."

"I see, do you like books?" She smiles sickly sweet at him. I can't help but push him away from her. I don't like the predatory look in her eyes and I don't want her to tear into the kid in the newspapers.

Harry just smiles at her cutely and tilts his head, "Nico reads to me every night and I can't wait to go to school." He nods enthusiastically.

Suddenly, his eyes gleam, "It's nice being with his cousins." The woman's face changes at that statement completely. Her smile becomes more genuine as her quill goes crazy writing at a nauseating rate.

"Oh please tell us more about your experiences." Her glasses glint sharply. Before he can say anything else, James butts in and I sigh with relief.

"We really need to go get our school supplies." He smiles woodenly.

The reporters begin to surround us closer and try to get in last minute questions but James just barrels his way past them and steers us towards a dusty old shop named, Ollivander's. It may not look very welcoming but it's an oasis compared to Borgin and Burkes. The bell tinkles cheerfully as we enter the room and I can hear the rabble of voices fade as the door closes.

The first thing that catches my eye is the piles and piles of small thin black boxes that are strewn around the room. More boxes are placed every which way on the shelves and there almost seems to be an endless supply. It's pretty small, almost the size of the living room in the manor but damn, the boxes are making it feel like the size of our closet. There is a desk with a register that looks older than my grandma with papers are scattered across it.

The dim lighting in here was already making me creepied out but then, "How can I help you young Mr. Potter?" whispers behind me. I jump and turn around to see a tall man that looks to be in his early seventies. His silver eyes gleam in the sunlight and I can't help but shiver at the sight of them. He manages to make the old man from Borgin and Burkes look friendly.

"Mr. Potter, Mahogany, 11 inches, and the heart string of a particularly fiery dragon I see." He turns to Lily and smiles even wider, "10 inches and a quarter, willow, and the hair of a very friendly unicorn. I remember it like it was yesterday." His eyes soften with treasured memories.

Ok, so this guy is a little off his rocker.

I clear my throat loudly, "Umm," they all turn to me, "So getting Harry his wand?" I draw out the last word awkwardly.

The man perks up and holds out his hand for me, "Garret Ollivander and your name?" I shake his spidery cold hand and can't help but scream little on the inside. I hate touching old people hands. It's all soft and putty like.

"Nico Yates." I smile tightly, "So, wand?" I need to get out of here.

James seems to be really off put from my hurried attitude but honestly, I just want to get everything done and get out of here. Being around this many wizards is really creeping me out. I feel a little safer with James and Lily but that doesn't mean I want to stick around here.

Ollivander doesn't appear to be put off by my attitude and starts bustling around the shop. He climbs up a ladder by the shelves and picks out a box.

Ginger Fuck starts throwing a little bitch fit, "Why does he get to go first?!" he blurts out. His face turns red and he looks like he's going to throw himself to the floor.

Lily rushes to reassure him, "Mason, we'll have more time to pick out your wand." Oh, so that's his name. I like Ginger Fuck better. She looks like she's going to actually going to cave and let the brat go ahead of Harry. Not on my watch.

I nudge Harry forward to Ollivander. The man smiles and opens the box to reveal a black wand that looks to be about nine inches.

He places it in Harry's hands, "Now give it a wave." He looks positively giddy and is almost dancing with anticipation in place.

Harry does the motion with the cautiousness of defusing a bomb. Rightly so because the wand actually bursts into flames and turned into ash. Harry's hands are covered in the charred remains. He yelps and runs over to me. I quickly scoop him up and hold him.

"Oi, what the fuck happened?" I yell at the old man.

James and Lily look just as freaked out as I am so I know this is not typical magic bullshit. Mason looks shocked but is quickly turning smug. His expression makes me nervous about what Ollivander is about to say.

The man's eyebrows are raised but otherwise he is unaffected, "I see," he walks over to where Harry and I are standing. I make sure to take a step back. I don't want his exploding sticks anywhere near me.

"Mr. Potter appears to not need a wand today." He says solemnly, "His core is much too broad. He needs a much more focused medium." What the fuck does that mean?

Upon seeing our confusion he chuckles merrily, "My, what are they teaching you in Hogwarts now a days?" He chuckles again but continues, "The magical core is, of course, where magic originates located by the navel. Now there are channels where magic flows through and they tend to follow the veins and arteries. However it looks like Mr. Potter lacks these channels."

"Wait does that mean he doesn't have any magic?" Lily looks positively horrified and I can't help but be offended on Harry's behalf. So what if the kid might not have magic?

Ollivander rushes to console the Potters, "No, Mr. Potter most certainly has magic for he has a magical core, he just doesn't have channels. One in three magical children don't have channels and they get by just fine."

The Potters look like their getting a headache so he tries to elaborate, "The channels are only common in Europe and the US. Do you know why we have channels?" We all shake our heads.

He seems to go into full lecture mode, "Before the time of Merlin, wands were not common at all. Many people used other mediums such as dance, martial arts, and runes. They didn't need to have such a focused medium to do magic."

"What do you mean?" Lily murmurs.

He smiles at her, "Channels concentrate the magic. The hands are a prominent area that the channels run through. Previous wizards just used ambient magic or magic that surrounds them because they were able to sense magic as a whole. Channel wizards are not able to and were unable to use the magic at the time. They were considered squibs and were often exiled by the general public."

James and Lily didn't look surprised or repulsed about the idea that some people were exiled due to not having magic so I can only guess that's how they're treated today. Would they have done that to Harry if he didn't have magic? Mason's earlier words in the kitchen ring in my ears.

Ollivander continues, "It was only until the invention of the wand that channel wizards were able to enter magical society and they ended up dominating in duels. They were able to last longer in stamina though their spells were a lot more specific." Seeing my confusion he elaborates.

"One spell is able to turn a match into a needle and another has to be made to change objects colors, Mr. Yates. There can't be one spell that just changes objects. Even though this is a drawback, it requires a lot less magic output as well as less training. Wizards with channels were able to compete with others." He smiles softly at me, his eyes are gleaming softly.

"As channel wizards began to integrate back into European wizard society, more channel wizards were found and trained and they eventually formed the society we know today. Wands are actually purely a European invention that's why trained channel wizards are more concentrated in Europe. Which is why most people around here will not be trained in ambient magic and will instead lean towards academic." I wait for him to finish before I raise my hand.

"What's academic magic?" I mumble awkwardly.

He laughs self depreciatingly, "Oh yes, I forgot. It's spells that require theory to work. You'll see this in school Mr. Potter but academic wizards tend to have to learn everything about the spell before they are able to use it. It's different than ambient magic where mages just know their magical core well enough to execute spells."

"How will he be able to go to Hogwarts?" James' forehead is furrowed. He shifts back and forth anxiously.

The old man rushes to reassure him, "No, no. You don't need to use a wand for the Hogwarts curriculum. Ambient magic is mostly self-taught anyway. He'll just learn to do the spells required of him in an ambient way. So when it's time for a cheering charm, he'll just have to focus his core and channel his magic through another medium. It's pretty common actually. Many in India do the same."

What the fuck is happening here?

My head spins as I try to process all that he's thrown at me.

So, the wizard world is way bigger than I expected. I thought that it was just centered on the UK but apparently they are in every country and they all have different ways to do magic. So even if I manage to leave this place, I can be hunted down on every continent.

Ok Nico, you already knew this just don't freak out because you are now forever trapped. Jesus, I might have a stroke right here and now. Don't think about it. Focus on the other problem.

Harry is going to be behind his classmates. Not only in reading but all other subjects. We need to figure something out, maybe I can get him a tutor.

The wand maker sighs, "This all used to be common knowledge in my time, it seems that since the education reformation, things have been a little lacking in the Hogwarts curriculum." Before I could question what he meant by that, James decided to be an ass and reassert himself in the conversation.

"How will he use magic?" James sputters, he's obviously at his limit for today.

Ollivander just smiles and points to the cauldron still dangling in my free hand, "It seems that you already have one medium."

He practically whisks the cauldron out of my hand and examines it with admiration, "Such a well-made Romani Cauldron. Such an array of runes and it was well taken care of. Oh, the mage must have wanted to pass this down." He places it back in my limp hand.

"What?" I stare at him like the loon he is. Who the fuck treats a pot like it's a baby?

He turns to me, "Oh, I'm so sorry Mr. Yates. It's just that it's rare to see such a beautiful craft. Being an artisan myself, I can't help but admire another ones work."

"Why does it work for him? The owner said the others couldn't get it to work." I shift Harry in my arms a little.

"Ah yes. You see Romani people use cauldrons similarly to how we use wands. They need to be specially made for the mage because they need to interact well with the core. Wands do choose the wizard you know! This cauldron has a similar consciousness. It seems Mr. Potter has a similar enough core to use this particular cauldron." He finishes with a flourish.

"So it just happened?" I say slowly.

"Of course, some wizards are able to reuse wands. They tend to be kept in the family and given to descendants. It's not unusual that Mr. Potter is able to use this cauldron." He smiles at me.

Ok, so Harry will be able to use magic through the cauldron but don't they have other subjects?

"What else can he use for school?" I cup Harry's head as I say this.

"He's doing so well with the cauldron that I suggest using runes for him. Romani tend to express their magic through runes. Their magic is rather interesting in that they use a wide variety of runes from other cultures. He can just start with Celtic runes and branch out." He reassures me.

"Ok but how does he like use them?" Like how do you use letters from another language?

He seems to become more excited about my questions and clasps his hands together, "Through great meditation, he should be able to manipulate his core outside his body and connect it with the runes. It could take years to master." Years, we only got nine months!

I'm freaking out and I can tell that the Potters are as well. They just look incredibly confused and lost. Mason seems to be smug and when he opens his mouth, I know it isn't going to be good.

"So he's too stupid for a wand?" He sneers.

Oh shit. I can feel something snap in Harry as the smell of ozone trickles its way into the room. The windows begin rattling and cracks form around the edges of the frame. The boxes are thrown off the walls and some of the candles lighting the room blow out.

I just run out the door with Harry in my arms without looking back. I can hear the Potters call out after me but I ignore them. I stop in a nearby alley way and plop him on the floor. His eyes are still glazed over with rage but I snap my fingers in front of his face.

"No, you do not get to freak out." I say in a low clear voice. He jerks and stares at me with betrayed eyes.

"No. We talked about this ok? They could lock you up and take me to ministry. Don't hurt them." He stops glaring once I finish but now his eyes well with tears. I feel a sharp pain in my heart when he starts to cry. His little hands reach to cover his reddening face.

I lift him up and cradle him in my arms. He wraps his arms around my neck and continues to sob. Not knowing what else to do, I rock him gently while shushing him.

"I won't be able to do magic." He whimpers.

"Oi, kid. You're going to catch up with the other kids. We have nine months. We'll get you a tutor." I reassure him.

"But I'm stupid." I tilt his head up when he said that so he's looking me right in the eyes.

"You're not stupid. I should know, I've been teaching you haven't I?" I wipe away the tears streaming down his face, "You're way smarter than I am kid. Trust me, you'll do fine."

He just buries his head in the crook of my neck and cries softly. I don't know what to do to make him feel better. When I sang last night, it seemed to soothe him. I continue to rock him for a few minutes and start to sing in a rough voice.

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound." I can feel the intensity of his sobs lessen and continue despite my atrocious voice.

"That saved a wretch like me." I can see that same paparazzi woman taking notes while staring at me but pointedly ignore her.

"I once was lost, but now am found." Lily peeks her head into the alley way. Her mouth open to presumably scold me but she quiets when she sees us.

"Twas blind but now I see." I decide to stop because one, I didn't know the rest of the lyrics and two, I was so embarrassed about two women seeing me sing. I know I have a terrible voice, just don't rub it in my face.

Lily had a strange contemplating expression on her face. Her eyes are shining with tears as well and I'm worried we're about to have a cry fest. After a few seconds, she turns to walk back in the direction of the store.

I sigh with relief and look down at Harry. He stopped crying but is still hiccupping softly. I just pat him on his back rhythmically and try to calm him. It takes a few minutes but I can tell he's feeling a lot better.

Suddenly, he gasps, "Bunny." I whirl around and sure enough, see a rabbit standing in the middle of the alley. How the fuck did it get there? There's only on entrance and we're blocking it. Was it already there and I just didn't see?

I stare at the thing suspiciously but honestly, it looked pretty innocent.

It was only about the size of my hand and had light gold fur with a little white cotton tail. Its dark brown eyes glared at me and I couldn't help but shiver slightly. I don't know why that thing really creeps me out. It looks normal but it's almost like a caricature of a rabbit.

Maybe it's the way it just stands there watching us with cold calculation or why it doesn't run away from us.

Harry wiggles his way out of grasp and runs over to the rabbit. I run after him but he already picked the thing up.

"Oi kid, you can get diseases from that thing." I try and take it from his hands but Harry just glares at me and snuggles his face in its fur.

"Your name is Rabi and we'll be best friends." Oh hell no.

"Look kid, you can't just steal the rabbit. I mean, what if it has a home?" I try and scramble for more excuses not to take it, "Your parents won't like it."

"They aren't my parents!" He snaps at me while clutching the rabbit even tighter. I'm worried he'll actually kill the thing.

I raise my hands defensively, "Ok, they aren't your parents, but we live at their house."

His eyes tear up with crocodile tears, his little lip juts out and he starts whimpering. Oh God, I don't want to deal with this. You know what? It might be good for him to have a pet even if it's creepy. I mean what can it do?

Just as I rationalized that, the shit bites Harry on his right hand.

Harry yelps, "No, don't bite me." I prepare to rip the creature out of his hands but Harry starts crying more and holding it.

"No, I want him. I always wanted a bunny like him! It's my birthday!" At the last part, I have to pause. It can't be his birthday. James and Lily didn't say anything.

Upon seeing my incredulous face, Harry explains, "It's January 15th. Mommy gave me that birthday because I didn't know mine."

What the fuck kind of person doesn't celebrate a kid's birthday? Shit, his psycho mother had to give him a date. I can't imagine not knowing my birthday. Why does this kid have so many messed up things in his life?

I already know I'm defeated when I see the kid's watery emerald eyes look up at me pleadingly. Lily and James can deal with it. I pick up the kid and the newly christened Rabi. I could have sworn that the kid's hand was black for a second but when I look at it again, it's just normal. Doesn't even look like he was bitten. I shrug it off and keep going.

I stand outside Ollivander's. I look through the window and see the Potters ringing up what I assume to be Mason's wand. The little fucker looks to be extremely pleased about this. I don't know if I'm imagining it but he looks even smugger than before. You little shit, it ain't that special that you got your stick. Everyone has them here.

I pointedly ignore them when they come out. Lily seems to be still mulling over what she saw before. James just looks annoyed by my very presence and Mason is staring at Harry with the I'm-better-than-you look on his face.

"Hey, why does he have a rabbit?" Mason points at Rabi obnoxiously.

"Because he wanted it." I snap at the kid, already annoyed by his grating presence.

"We should take it back. Harry can't handle a pet right now." James makes a move to grab the creature but I take a step back.

"Oi, I'll help him take care of the thing." I protest and James' face turns a strange color. What is that again? I know it's красновато-коричневый but I forgot.

James starts sputtering.

Red? No it's like a deep red. It starts with a P.

James starts yelling at me incoherently, "You have no right!" Was what I was getting from him.

Puce? Puce!

Lily steps in before James can self-destruct, "What's wrong James? We gave Mason Ares on his 8th birthday." She sighs heavily at the end and stares at him like he's an idiot. I know the feeling girl.

James goes even redder but quiets down and it's a few seconds of awkward silence.

I clear my throat, "So, where are we going next?"

"Madame Malkins, it's a clothing store." Lily adds when I glance at her. Aww yes, finally I can get some underwear.

I practically sprint behind her as she leads us to a maroon bricked store that has grey roof tiles. The shop is larger than any other I've seen, at least the size of the first floor of the manor. The bell tinkles cheerfully as we enter the building.

I'm floored by how many clothes there are. There's piles of shirts on the tables, rows of dresses and pants are hung up on the racks. I can see rolls of fabric that are at least a foot thick near the back. There are different sections for women, men, and children. The bright colors almost blind me.

A middle aged curly brown haired woman walk over to where we are, "Welcome, how can we help you today?" She chirps. Her face is initially stern but softens when she sees Harry in my arms. I'm guessing she really likes little kids. Harry buries his head in the crook of my neck when he notices her smiling at him.

Her smile widens as she croons at him, "I can see he's in need of a new wardrobe. You can take your little friend and place him on the floor. What a beautiful child you have sir." She gives me an admirable look. Wait what? Harry ignores her suggestion to put Rabi on the floor and just holds him tighter.

I had no idea how to respond to that so I just shrugged awkwardly. James open his mouth to loudly deny that statement but Lily stomps on his foot. She doesn't want him to have a bitch fit any more than I do. Her face does tighten painfully though so I know there's going to be a discussion later.

The curly haired woman ends up being a whirlwind of energy. She first takes us to the children's section where she gestures for Harry to stand on a stool. I place him feet first on it and watch in amazement as some measuring tape flies around on its own. It seems to have a mind of its own but the lady isn't put off by this and just writes down the measurements. It even measures Rabi.

She coos at Harry, "What do you want today?" Strangely, he doesn't seem to mind the patronizing way the woman is speaking to him and just flashes his dimples at her. He points to a light gold shirt with green stitches on the edges of the sleeves. It looks almost renaissance style, the sleeves are looser but the waist is tight. It would reach a little past his waist. I think it'd look ok, it'd bring out his eyes.

"That's a girl's shirt!" Mason sneers with disdain clear in his voice.

Oh, I blink. I guess it does look pretty feminine but it's not like it matters. I mean, this world has everyone wearing a dress so it's not like he's going to stand out.

I just shrug and say, "He'll just pick out what he wants." I don't think Lily seems to care about Harry's choice though she does have her eyebrows raised. Seeing my significant look, she nods. James doesn't appear to be too put off either and just gives a thumbs up. I guess gender stereotypes don't really matter to them.

The woman smiles widely, "Aww, he'd look so cute in that." Yep, it doesn't really matter here. Mason is pouting and begins to whine again. I glare at him to shut him up.

Harry seems to become more enthusiastic and hops off the stool to point at the items he wants. His eyes are shining with quiet contentment as he picks up more clothing. He tends to pick more feminine shirts but seems to like pants. His clothes range from short sleeved, long sleeved, gold, green, blue, white, or gray. He picks out clothes for every season. Sweaters pile up along with a long black button up coat with silver buttons. Little lace up black boots join it. Rabi bounces around in his arms but seems to put up with it.

I smile softly at the kid. He just looks to finally be in his element. Occasionally, he picks up a long floral skirt but most of it is just jean like pants in various shades. He tends to stick to flowing designs. It kinda reminds me of the hippies that I'd run to in New York. What did they call it? Bohemian?

The tops had drawstrings near the neck line. That's going to be a bitch to dress the kid in.

He finally stops with a pile that was as tall as he was. The woman seems to get more and more excited with each item he added. She's probably going to get a big percent of the sales. The Potters are rich but are they going to be willing to buy this. It seems almost excessive but then again I tend to only have a few shorts and pants.

I turn to Lily. She's smiling softly and her eyes are shimmering. A small smile tugs at James' lips. Ok, so money is no object with them. That's good to know because I'm probably going to blow a hole in their budget by being here. I'll try not to spend too much but I literally don't have anything.

I rub the back of my neck but smile and lift Harry up when he bounces over to where I am. I balance him on my hip. The woman coos at us and says she'll have the clothes altered by next week if we'd like to pick it up or they can floo it.

Lily walks over with her to the nearby register and pulls out a pocket book that has a small quill in it. Its tip looks ominously sharp and red ink spills across the paper. I can see the letters carve onto her hand as she writes it and I almost scream a little when I realize that the ink might actually be blood.

Sweet Jesus, why the fuck does these people need to make everything so creepy? I make a face but try in ignore the satanic shit that's going on there.

I check out the final price and am floored. It's five hundred galleons. Didn't Lily say that a Galleon is five pounds? That's about seven dollars each in America so Harry just picked out over three thousand dollars of clothes. Are you kidding me? How the fuck am I going to afford to buy anything here? Every shirt is like fifty dollars.

Lily notices my panic and reaches for my arm, "We will take care of your clothing expenses here. Don't worry." She pulls her arm back and smiles. I sigh with relief, thank God.

The woman bustles over to where I am and gestures to the store dramatically, "Pick out anything you'd like or we can make something for you." I browse and don't see anything I'd actually wear. I mean a lot of it is dress shirts or robes that I'd like to avoid.

"Do you have any sweat pants?" She brightens with recognition at my request.

"Of course we can make them. It's rather popular with the muggleborns." She dimples at me.

I nod and specify, "I just want them to be black and have pockets. I also want t-shirts in different colors. Just make it dark. I only need about seven of the shirts and three of the pants. Can you make some underwear?"

I decide to add a pair of black hide boots. They come up half way to my knee and remind me of my old pair at home.

Lily pipes up, "You can have more Mr. Yates."

Nah, I don't need a lot of clothes. It's not like I'm trying to impress anyone. I just shrug and shift Harry to my other arm. The woman twirls around me and the tape follows her like a pair of dancers. It measures me and I'm struggling not to just swat it out of the air. It's kinda freaking me out.

It manages to finish and the woman is just kinda staring at me with some trepidation. Yeah, I know, I'm a big guy. Lily buys my clothes and the woman says she'll have it by tonight. She waves at us excitedly as we leave.

Ok, that wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be.

Lily stops and faces me in the middle of the street, "We'll be going to Gringotts to open your account." She wrings her hands but steels her expression. Ok, is it like super weird or dangerous or something?

We walk down the cobblestone street. A shop with a broom on its sign catches James and Mason's attention.

"Come on, can we go there mum?" Mason whines in a high pitch tone. It grates on my ears and I'm just praying that he leaves. He and James are really starting to get on my nerves and we should separate before I go insane. I'm practically going to fall on my knees for a Hail Mary when Lily just shoos them away. They sprint to the store with childish glee.

I don't know why they want to buy a broom so bad but whatever floats their boat. Harry and I exchange looks. Wizards.

The remaining group continues down the cobblestone street until we reach an imposing marble building. It's easily the biggest building in the district. It dominated the entire place and overshadowed every building. The doors itself were at least ten feet tall and I could see stone lions guarding the entrance.

I gulp but steel myself as I enter the doors.

It looks like any other bank or library. There are teller stations and the floor is made out of various shades of marble. Then I catch what one of the tellers looks like.

Jesus, he looks like Gollum from Lord of the Rings. They are like three feet tall at most and has hooked noses and bulbous heads. Their skin is wrinkled and seems to have the texture of leather. Many of them were balding and I tried my best not to gape at them. Oh my God, so there are different species here.

I try not to offend the race as we trot up to the nearest stall. This thing looked at us with great annoyance and disdain. His maw of a mouth opens into a mockery of a smile.

"How can we help you Mrs. Potter?" He croaks with a voice that reminds me of sandpaper.

Lily isn't repulsed at all and just gets down to business, "We would like to open an account for Mr. Yates. Also, I'd like to set up an automatic payment for fifteen galleons a week for him." She reaches into her purse and pulls out a key. The creature picks it up and examines it with great scrutiny. He looks up and me and sneers.

Ok, so he already hates me.

I clear my throat and hold out my free hand, "Nico Yates and you are?" I try and be as polite as I can be because this thing looks like he can tear out my throat with his teeth.

He leans back and his eyebrows go up, "I am Griphook." He grasps my hand with great strength and shakes it. I kinda bring Harry forward but make sure to keep him from getting to close to him. Rabi gives an indignant squeak but I ignore him.

"Say hello to Mr. Griphook Harry." Please don't eat the kid.

Harry hesitantly reaches out and shakes the creature's hand. He gives him a soft slightly nervous smile, "Hello." He says in a small voice. I can tell that he charmed the thing because his entire face becomes less stern and he turns to Lily.

"That can be done today with a fee of ten galleons." He croaks at her. Lily has just been staring at me with awe for the last few minutes. What? Did I do something wrong? Am I breaking like social rules here?

She snaps out of trance and hurriedly takes out ten coins that are twice the size of a quarter. It has a giant G on it and has the picture of a wreath on the back of it.

He takes the coins and brings out a small pile of paper.

"What is your full name Mr. Yates?" He is all business now.

I rub the back of my neck with my free hand, "Nikolai Christopher Yates."

"Wait, do I have to sign it with my blood?" Get that shit away from me. My face must have been pretty epic because he laughs roughly.

"Yes, Mr. Yates, it's how we prevent anyone from using your account." Ok, but I really don't want to do this. Can't you just send me like a summary of my spending every month and I just tell you guys I bought all that? Then again, I guess that would be a hassle and I think these guys are like excessively through.

I accept the book with the mini quill reluctantly. Ok, it's just like a regular quill but it's a lot creepier. Just go along with it Nico. It's not like anything here makes sense.

I put it in my back pocket and Griphook take out a small bronze bowl that has a bunch of characters on it. It seems to be filled with some kind of oil. The air around it hums silently and I really don't like where this is going. There's a thorn like protrusion on the rim of it.

"Now Mr. Yates. You have to place some of your blood in here to activate the account." He smiles when I squirm a little.

"Will my blood be used for some freaky bullshit?" I say brusquely.

His smile becomes almost approving, "No. We will only use it for your account. There will only be enough blood for this ritual."

I decide to get it over with and close my eyes. I jam my thumb into the spike and feel my blood drain into the container. I open my eyes and stare at my digit but it seems to have been healed. At least they're polite like that.

The oil glowed a soft gold and disappeared. It was almost like a hole opened up at the bottom and drained somewhere below. A key gleams in place of it. It just seemed to materialize out of nothing. Griphook places it in my outstretched hand and I put it in my back pocket along with the checkbook.

He puts his hands together on the counter and adopts a solemn look on his face, "Now, this establishment will give you five percent interest for the first six months and afterwards you will receive two percent." I nod my understanding so he continues.

"This bank is guarded by numerous wards and your account will be extremely well cared for." He reassures, his smile turns bloodthirsty and I don't doubt his statement.

"Do you have any questions?" Hell yes I do.

"When will the money be placed in my account?" I shift Harry to my other arm.

"Every Monday morning at eight." Ok, so at least I know when to expect it.

"So I'll have a physical account like a vault?"

"Yes, yours will be six thousand and eighty eight." He nods primly.

"Can I get a job here?" After seeing the prices, I might need to get more money.

He looks taken aback a little, "You can but you'll need approval from the ministry." Damn, ok I'm stuck with fifteen Galleons a week. I'll just have to save up.

"And the checkbook will be automatically paid? Like how much time will be in between the payment and when I signed it?" I rub my forehead.

"As soon as the person brings it here and processes it." He leans forward, "We process it very quickly Mr. Yates."

I nod, Ok but I don't know what else to ask the guy. A pit forms in my stomach, what if I have more questions?

He seems to notice and adds, "You can come in with more questions at any time." Thank God, they're actually kinda friendly. Maybe I can get some more info out of them when Lily isn't here. I want to ask about how extensive this world is. I know about the population size but I'm wondering if they have different economies and currency. I want to know just how unified this place is.

We leave after that. Harry turns around in my arms and looks over my shoulder. He waves innocently at all the tellers. They just appear shocked and wave distractedly back. At least he's making friends.

Lily bustles us into a nearby book store. This place is really freaking me out. First of all, it's seriously dark in here. Next, some of the books seem to be moving and making grunting noises. Finally, everything is stacked haphazardly. I mean there are piles of books that reach the ceiling and make me think they are going to be knocked over and kill us all. It's at least as big as the bank and it's designed like a maze.

"I'm going to run and get their school books." She smiles nervously and directs the next words at Harry, "You can pick out any book you want." Harry just stares at her stonily and she withers a little but resolutely turns around and heads towards the bookshelves.

"Come on kid, be nice to her. She's buying you all these things." I place him on the ground. He whirls around and glares at me harshly.

"I still hate her." He growls softly.

I sigh, I may not like her that much but I think she really is trying. I may not trust her to tell me the full truth but I trust her to protect me and help me financially. Honestly, she's the only one I trust even a little right now. Maybe Griphook but no one has really been that informative here. I wish Harry wouldn't be so hostile to them. Then I wouldn't worry about him murdering them and could leave him with them sometimes.

Taking care of the kid is kinda tough. I mean I have to make sure he's fed, bathe him, dress him, entertain him, teach him, and rock him to sleep most nights. I imagine this is what taking care of a toddler is like.

The kid kinda reminds me of a much younger child too. He just doesn't get the danger we are in. He is stubborn and doesn't have a lot of empathy towards others. He's childishly cruel and relies on me all the time to take care of him. He just doesn't have any desire to be independent from me. It kinda reminds me of a baby duckling that imprinted on me. Now he won't stop following me and expects me to teach him how to fly.

I think I replaced his mother as some kind of parent figure for the kid. He just latched on to the nearest adult.

I'm not a parent. I can barely take care of myself. How am I going to take care of this kid? He violently hates his family and pushing them together will only end in blood. So that just leaves me to take care of the kid.

Don't get me wrong. I care about the kid and I want to keep him safe but I just don't know if I'm cut out to be a bigger figure in his life. I feel like I'm just bumbling around and winging taking care of him. What if he wants me to be more than a temporary caretaker? What if this lasts for years? I'll just disappoint him when I go back to the real world. Should I let him down gently now?

No.

That would destroy him. He can't survive on his own and he'll be damned before he chooses the Potters. He's already been abandoned by everyone in his life. I can't be another one to add to his list. I don't know what I'm doing but I'll stay until he gets used to his family or when I leave, whichever comes first.

"Come on, pick something out." I ruffle his hair and he reaches his arms up at me. I sigh and pick him up once again. That's another thing about the kid, he always wants to be within a foot of me. He seems to have separation anxiety and I can't help but wonder what development he's really at.

I walk over to the section titled, "Beginner Subjects" perfect. I browse and am floored when I realize how extensive magic really is. There's alchemy, magical creatures and plants, potions, seeing the future, charms, hexes, and that's only just scratching the surface. So these people are able to use magic to do pretty much anything. Oh God, if they come after me, they'll definitely catch me.

Sweat drips down my back as I just got how doomed I really am. There's no way I can leave alive. These people can look into the future and find me. I have wait until I'm released and that seems like it's going to be a long time.

"Nico, I want those books." Harry whines in my ear. I look over and see him pointing a book that is titled, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." It was really thick at least a thousand pages and it's priced at fifty Galleons but then again Lily was willing to buy five hundred Galleons worth of clothes. I pick it up and flip through it. There's an extensive array of illustrations about the creatures. This might actually help me not get killed so I guess we're going to read this from now on.

Harry points to another titled, "Introduction to Celtic Runes." Oh, I guess he already wants to get ahead on magic. It's about four hundred pages and is only eight Galleons so I pick it up along with the other book. I have to place it in the cauldron. Rabi gives me a reproachful look when I accidently jostle him a little.

"Those ones too." Are you kidding me kid? I can barely hold you as is.

I look over and see that it's a guide of introductory potions the one next to it seems to be a magical plants guide. Ok, that sounds useful.

I pile the books into the pot when I see something catch my eye. It was a small book that had a black cover with gold edges titled, "Ministry of Magic and Its Development." Yes! Score! It was ten Galleons. I can't exactly just tell Lily that Harry was interested in their government so I'll just buy it.

I nearly trip over the books on the floor but I make it to the register where Lily is standing with a pile of books at least two feet tall. I look at the subjects curiously, I wonder what Harry will be learning.

Something called Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, History of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, and Herbology. What the fuck? They are supposed to learn all that? Oh my God, Harry is going to be behind. I feel my breathing become shallower as I start to realize how insane this is.

I had no idea that magic was this extensive. If this is what they have to learn at eleven, I can only imagine what full grown wizards can do.

I rock Harry a little to calm myself and just place his books on the counter along with the others. Be cool Nico, don't show them your fear.

"It's nice to have another bookworm in this family." Lily turns her attention to Harry. He just buries his head in the crook of my neck and I can tell that that killed her a little inside.

I watch her ring everything up and then it's my turn. I place my book on the surface and pull out the checkbook. Basically, it had a space to write the amount you want to pay and a signature. The back had a place for the recipient to sign. Ok, like a normal check. I sign it one handed with Harry still almost choking me with his clinginess. I feel the bite of some kind of blade as I sign my name. Oh God, it actually feels like a knife is carving my name into my hand.

I steel myself and look down only to see my skin being cut into my name. I watch slightly fascinated. Well, that's one way to ensure that I spend wisely.

I write a ten in the Galleon box and just give it to the man behind the counter. He smiles and wishes me a good day. I nod and pick up the book. I just decide to hold it in the cauldron because I have no room.

Lily waves her wand and the books are shrunk until they are only about one fourth of their original size. She places them in a shopping bag that she had in her purse.

We walk outside and I watch Lily bite her lip before she faces us, "You can wait here while I get something. I need to also get parchment and quills for the boys." She tries to give Harry a friendly look, "I'll see you soon Harry." Harry just stares at her and I can tell that Lily was on the verge of tears when she leaves.

Harry pokes me on my cheek when she's out of sight. I look down and he's pouting at me.

"What?" I narrow my eyes.

"Ice cream." He points at a nearby shop called Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour.

Oh damn. Well I was hungry anyway.

The entire store was a powder blue and a middle aged man with wispy hair greeted us cheerfully.

"What would you like gentlemen?" He beams at us.

I stare at the menu and am slightly grossed out. I mean they had blood flavored and that's just disgusting but they also had every other flavor under the sun including butter pecan. Thank God, I haven't had any in a week.

I ask for butter pecan and Harry got chocolate fudge. All of this amounted to two galleons and I couldn't help but be relieved about the prices. Maybe only books and clothes are expensive in this world.

We eat in one of the booths and I stare out the window while he makes a mess of himself. I sigh and wipe his face with a napkin but I can tell he's going to need a bath later. I fuss over him a little but he seems to be more concerned over Rabi.

I just give up and look out the window again. I can see that reporter woman taking notes outside by Madame Malkin's. Her quill is just going crazy and she seems to be whispering to her photographer. I decide to stay here until I know she's gone.

I turn to the kid, "Look, you need to get along with the Potters at least pretend like you tolerate them." He whips his head towards me and glares at me. Rabi gives a sympathetic huffing noise.

"I don't want to. I hate them." He growls softly.

I sigh, "Look kid, we don't have anything. If we didn't have the Potters then we'd be trapped here and on the streets. Don't give them a reason to do that." I doubt the Potters would actually kick us to the curb but I need the kid to chill a little.

I add, "And it's alright to hate them. Trust me, they are pretty shitty. Just don't show that you hate them."

He seems to consider my words. I try to push it a little more.

"We'll get through this together kid." His attitude will hopefully change over time but I'm not going to push it too hard today. He's already over stressed.

I take a new napkin and rub away the chocolate on his face. He even managed to get some on Rabi. Well, I guess I'm giving them both a bath tonight.

He finally seems to get it but I can tell he doesn't like it. I feel relieved knowing he won't make any more death threats around them.

I check and see if the coast is clear and then we leave.

We end up back at the bank and the Potters are waiting for us. Mason is proudly holding a sleek looking broom but he looks angry about something. James is also holding one and he ends up extending it to Harry.

"We can play Quidditch together." He runs his hand through his wild hair, "Mason and I can teach you all about it."

Harry looks unenthused and tries to just focus on Rabi. I nudge him with my hand and give him a look. Be nicer.

He mumbles, "Ok, thank you," before he reaches up his free arm and I hold him with Rabi. Jesus, it's staring into my soul.

James looks really upset about Harry's attitude but seems to accept that that's as good as it's going to get. I see the ratty old dime on the floor and immediately get a flashback to how we came here. I have to admit, I froze up and stared at the thing bug eyed for a few seconds.

Lily notices, "We can take the floo through the Leaky Cauldron."

Yeah, I'd rather die than take that thing again. I shiver a little, I'm never gonna look at a dime the same way again.

We walk down the street and end up in front of a red brick wall. Ok, so what now? Lily taps the wall in a strange pattern with her wand. It opens up from the middle and arranges the bricks until we can see a dingy old pub.

Yeah, this seems legit.

I try and ignore the weird vibes I'm getting when we enter through the back door. Wow, this place is packed. Every booth is filled and the dining tables are also full. Again, some of the people don't look entirely human but it has a warm if grungy atmosphere. That is, until everyone gasped and stared at us.

Not this shit again.

Every person jumps to their feet and tries to shake Mason's hand, "Mr. Potter it's amazing to finally meet you!" One of them yells over the noise. Jesus, they just keep on coming in droves. Mason is smiling cordially and acting like the celebrity he is, happy to meet his fans but feeling superior as well.

Why the fuck is everyone freaking out about this kid? I mean, James and Lily said something about him playing a role in a dark wizard's death but I mean, come on. How big of a deal is this shit? I end up losing it when someone bumps into me and squishes Harry in their haste to get to Mason.

"So sorry but we need to get going." I say loudly above the people's rabble. I really don't have time for this shit. Mason pouts at me again but I honestly couldn't care less.

I turn to Lily, "Where do we need to go?" She silently points at the nearby fireplace and for once, I'm actually relieved to see it. We hustle over and Lily starts to explain it to me.

"Now, you're keyed to the wards so just do what you did before and say, 'Potter Manor'. Then you should be fine." She twirls her hair, "Are you going to be ok?"

I shrug and give her a smirk. I just jump into the fireplace with Harry in tow and hope to go that I won't mess this up. Ok Nico, don't get lost.

"Potter Manor!" I intone and throw the floo into the floor of the fireplace. Green flames engulf us and I'm relieved to see the living room of the home when we stumble out. Ugh, I feel sick. Being spun like that does not do well with my stomach.

I place Harry on the ground but he fights me by clinging to my neck tighter. He whines and whimpers until I finally manage to free myself. Then, he glares at me and starts crying. I can totally tell that those are fake tears but that doesn't mean I want him to do that. I just sigh and hold him again. The cauldron with the book is in my right hand and he and Rabi are in my left. I feel like a pack mule.

Flames roar to life in the fireplace and Lily pops out with a grateful smile. She obviously didn't expect me to make it. Her expression fades when she sees Harry glaring at her with murder in his eyes. He obviously done with these people for today.

"I got you something." She whispers. Her hand goes into her pocket and a trunk the size of a quarter comes out. What the fuck? She waves her wand over it and it expands until it's about two feet tall and four feet long.

It appeared to be made out of leather covered cherry wood. The covering was black and it had a gold buckle. The lock was also gold and it actually looked really fancy. It actually reminds me of more of an old fashioned brief case than anything. She continues to wave her wand over the thing and sweat gathers on her brow as she puts the final touches on it.

"Now you'll be able to shrink it when you touch the lock. It's keyed to you and Harry only." She looks at me hopefully, "There's more." She gestures for me to open it.

I do so by setting down the cauldron and leaning over awkwardly with Harry. The lock appears to be a dial, there's a button in the middle so if I press that it will shrink. I turn it clockwise until something snaps and the lid pops open. There are stairs leading to a lighted room. I stare at Lily incredulously and she smiles again.

"Go on." She says.

I walk down cautiously. For all I know this could be something creepy.

Instead I'm lead into a spacious living room. There are no windows but the lighting coming from an unknown source makes it appear open and friendly. I can see a gray stone large fireplace that has a mantle. This place could easily fit two of our bedrooms in it. A stairway is behind me leading up into the outside world but I can see another stairwell to the right of it. I see an open archway to the left and it leads into a dining room. Two doors branch off from the room.

I take a peek into the one on the left and it's a spacious kitchen that reminds me a lot of the Potter's. The walls are a dark stone and the counters are white marble. There is a black stove that while it doesn't look like it runs on wood, it's still pretty vintage. There is counter space to put some stools and have somewhere to eat on the island. A gray metal fridge sat on the right by the door.

I can see that the room was attached to a family room. It had an open floor design and you can clearly see the room. I can tell that the other door in the dining room lead to this.

All the walls are pristine white and the floors are made of light wood. I can see that there are stairs leading down to the basement to the left of the entrance. I follow them down and am greeted with a completely dark gray stone room. It's very large and even has shelf space carved into the walls.

"This is a potion room." Lily chirps out, "Upstairs has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The walls change colors all you have to do is tell them. There's a library room connecting to this one." To the left I can see an open entrance leading into a room the size of the rest of the house.

The walls were at least fifteen feet tall and were lined with cherry colored bookshelves that were carved into the building. The room extended back about thirty feet and I can see a bunch of ladders that allowed people to reach the highest shelves. The floor was a light beige wood and the walls between the book cases was also white. Chandeliers gave the room a very welcoming feeling. I almost had to pick my jaw off the floor.

Harry jumped off me ran to the back of the room with Rabi bouncing in his arms. He twirled around the room giggling softly.

"Ok, what's the deal?" I level with her. There's no way she's just giving us this house.

She turns to me startled but quickly recovers, "Harry is better when he's with you." She admits quietly with her eyes downturned.

"I don't want to push him away," she sighs heavily, "but I also don't want to push him until he hates us. A little space will do him some good."

"Why this much though? You didn't need to give us a house." I scratch the back of my head awkwardly.

The lines around her eyes tighten, "I know that Harry is not open to becoming part of the family right now and living in our home has made him even more hostile lately."

I don't know what else to say so I just nod.

She continues, "He probably feels like he doesn't have any say or power in our home and I don't want to make him feel like he's in a prison. You'll still be living in our home but this will give you both a little more freedom and privacy."

"How's James going to deal with this?" I snort. I can only imagine him accusing me of whisking Harry away again.

She wrings her hands and looks down, "He'll probably throw a fit." She deadpans to me. Well, at least you know your husband.

"But I know he loves Harry and only wants the best for him." She turns to me again, "He'll see that this will improve things and he'll come around but I need your help." Umm, not sure if I should be the one to convince James.

She notices my expression and shakes her head, "No, not persuading him directly." She sighs through her nose, "Just try and get Harry to spend time with him, just a few hours a week. Play Quidditch with him."

What the fuck is Quidditch?

Well, it can't be too bad and it shouldn't be too hard to get Harry to hang out with James if I'm there.

I take the opportunity to really look at her. I didn't get a chance the other day when everything went to hell.

I'm struck by how young she seems. I mean, I knew that she was probably only ten years older than me before but I think it just hit me that she had Harry and Mason around my age. '

Look how much I'm struggling now with Harry. She said that some crazy wizard was after them and trying to kill their entire family. I can definitely sympathize with that due to being in the same situation now.

Dumbledore seems to be the one that suggested abandoning Harry. He's a big deal around here. It's like the president walked up to me and gave me advice.

Would I have listened to him if I was in the same position? Better to have the kid hate me then be dead.

She did something really shitty but her heart seems to be in the right place.

And what am I even going to do with Harry? I can't just raise him and take care of him forever. I'll fuck things up so bad. He needs to figure out how to survive in this new world and I don't have the resources to help him do that. I need to at least help them get along if only for the kid's future.

She turns back to Harry pleased as he continues to run around. He sets Rabi on the floor and the bunny hops after him as he dances excitedly.

This might actually work.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Beta'd by The Carnivorous Muffin**

 **One Fuck Up After Another**

"Hold up." I raise my hand in a stopping motion.

James sighs and repeats in a patronizingly slow pace while his grip on the pencil tightens, "The two beaters' job is prevent-."

I cut him off, "No, the flying murderous dodgeballs." My mind was curiously blank and all I can do is just stare at the man numbly, unconsciously tightening my hold on Harry, who was sitting in my lap on the living room sofa.

James snorts, "They're bludgers and add excitement to the game." He rolls his eyes as if to say, 'Silly muggle.'

He pulls out a walnut sized golden orb with the eagerness of a child getting a new toy and then, we're moving on.

I survey him intently as he begins to talk about how he had high hopes for Harry playing the position seeker, as his small frame is apparently perfect for maneuvering in the air.

He activates the snitch, he says the name with great emphasis, and it sprouts wings to fly sporadically around the room.

He snatches it out of the air and smiles nostalgically as he does so.

He comments on how Harry is going to be an excellent player with his genes, obviously, being the contributing factor.

How Mason and he would be an unstoppable force together on the field, like their old man was in his day.

That he and Lily would come to every game cheering and he just couldn't wait until Harry was in his second year because first years weren't allowed to play.

That, he was going to smuggle a broomstick into the school so that Harry, Mason, and him can play at night. Of course, it had to be night because the teachers did not want first years playing but it's a secret between us. Right Harry? Cue dramatic wink and that was it.

The moment I realized this man is the biggest idiot I've ever met.

I knew this day was going to go downhill after I managed to make the trunk's kitchen smell like Pillsbury Doughboy's asshole.

I just wanted to make the new house feel more like home. I mean yeah, it's clean and everything but it kind of feels sterile and I thought baked goods would change that. It reminds me of St. Jude's with the white walls and light wooded floors, not exactly something I wanted Harry or me to be reminded of everyday. Plus, the lack of furniture makes me feel like I am in a padded cell for the criminally insane and yet, Harry finds this more welcoming than the Manor.

We had to sleep in the Manor last night and he was still whining about that. He actually took off the comforter from our bed and prepared to make a nest in one of the room's closets. Why a closet, I don't know.

I had to physically drag him from the trunk and endure his attempts to bite me. So you can guess that he was not a happy child when I poked him awake. Still, I reasoned I could make it up to him for the stressful event of yesterday and denying him.

My ma used to bake in every apartment we moved in and it felt wrong to not uphold the tradition. She always smelled of brown sugar and it managed to make even the most dismal of hovels feel almost habitable. Even when we got to more upscale apartments as her work progressed, it was still comforting to bake right after moving in. It was almost a good luck charm. With that sentiment, I woke Harry up and said we're having breakfast in the trunk and then stole the necessary ingredients from the Manor's pantry.

Unfortunately, I have never baked without my mother before.

"What do we do?" Harry looks up at me like he's questioning my capabilities as an adult. Rightly so, considering I managed to fuck up sugar cookies.

I try to distract him with my bullshit, "Nothing. It's fine, just needs a little more sugar." Oh my God, I need to take it out of the oven before it stinks up the whole trunk.

He points to it with slightly widened eyes, "It's bubbling." That would be the baking soda that I just added because I think it's essential for cooking but forgot how much to put in.

"No it's not." I take the creations out of the oven and have to wonder how the fuck I managed to create a biohazard out of flour, sugar, and eggs. They had the color and consistency of tar, bubbling sluggishly they started to merge with one another, creating what I can only envision the primordial atmosphere which spawned cockroaches must have looked like.

"Nico?" I keep my face cheerfully neutral as I turn to him.

His brow is furrowed with great concern, "Do we have to eat that?" Without even saying a word or changing my expression I dumped them into the trash bin that I also stole from the Manor. (There wasn't much initial expectations.)

At least the Potters probably won't care that we ruined the borrowed clothes. Madame Malkins promised to deliver the following day and I figured that the Potters won't want these back.

I must look ridiculous in my stolen eggshell blue apron, every inch of my body is encrusted in flour, and I tied my hair tied back in a black hairband that I found on the stairs, but goddamn it, I just wanted to do something nice for once.

Harry looks much more presentable in his pastel yellow apron, the hem goes past his knees and he has to awkwardly shuffle about the kitchen. The saddest part is, he managed to remain pretty clean in the chaos of the kitchen while I'm wondering if I should just buy Lily a new apron.

Flour is caked in every crevice of the room with an almost paste like consistency, the refrigerator door has mysterious stains that aren't even the color of the ingredients we used, and the oven is dripping with egg whites.

And I had nothing to show for this.

"I'll clean it up." His meek voice echoes loudly.

I frown, "Kid, it's not your job. Adults clean just go upstairs and find Rabi." I wonder where they keep cleaning supplies, probably will have to ask Lily.

I hear the sound of shuffling feet, "You're not going to make me clean?" He asks like I just suggested that he eat a live rat. Looking over, we engage in a staring contest. Maybe I'm being too lenient? Doesn't exactly call for such a dramatic response. I feel like this situation is more loaded than I'm perceiving but have no idea why.

Oh God.

I stare at him with dawning horror; we're going to talk about feelings aren't we?

I'm not exactly the most comforting person. My method of dealing with my feelings is to poke them with a stick and hope they don't move. Should I just ignore him and let him clean? Or should I actually try to tackle this?

I am not prepared for this, probably going to fuck up pretty badly and considering this kid has serious mental issues, this is going to either end in blood or me making everything a hell of a lot worse.

While I'm mulling over a response, Rabi hops out from behind the refrigerator.

So that's where the shit was hiding. Good thing too because I really don't want to have to bathe it again, still have scratches from yesterday. Harry picks up the creature and buries his face in its fur, dusting it with flour. Well, never mind what I said before.

I smile despite this when I see how much the kid's mood lifted.

After a few seconds of Harry lavishing attention on Rabi, he refocuses on me. His expression is eerily blank, almost mask like. I imagine this is what soldiers look like going into battle and I definitely feel slightly frustrated. I felt that our relationship had developed to a point that he doesn't see me as an enemy but I should have expected this. An abused child wouldn't exactly be trusting to an adult they just met last week.

If I confront him on this, he might just withdraw and avoid me. If I don't then he might feel betrayed that I didn't try. It's a tough decision but I feel I have to take a chance.

"You don't have to clean around me kid." I sit on the floor, so I'm not towering over him. I cross my legs and prepare to wait.

His voice is almost hollow when he mumbles, "You'll change your mind."

"Why do you think that?" Shit, that came out a little harsher than I wanted to.

He doesn't seem to care or just refuses to show it, "Everyone does." Great, vague and ominous answers. I gesture for him to go on but he hesitates.

A few minutes of stony silence go by. I make sure not to break it because I'm afraid he'll run if I do. Something in his eyes shifts and he starts whispering rapidly, almost incomprehensibly.

"You're nice to me now but you'll be mean soon." He can't seem to look me in the eyes as he says this.

"I won't." I make sure to keep my voice low and measured so I don't scare him off.

He looks to the wall behind me, "You will."

I sigh, frustrated.

It seems like I can't make any progress with him. I can reassure him a million times that I like him but it just doesn't seem to sink in. I haven't given him any reason for him to think I don't like him; I've basically been running around taking care of him. There has to be something else to this.

I pat the space between my legs and he shuffles over to sit, "Why do you think that?"

He stares at the floor blankly, "Because everyone has a Dudley."

What the fuck is a Dudley? Is it a disease? A wart? What?

Sensing my confusion he meets my gaze for a second before returning to the floor, "Dudley is my cousin." Definitely related to the people who named their kid Mason.

He traces patterns in the flour covered floor with his finger, "A Dudley, is the perfect child. They get everything they want and there's no room for a Harry. A Harry, is someone that needs to be quiet. When a Dudley shares a house with a Harry, then the Harry is forgotten." He acts like his terms are set in stone. It's just how the world works.

I have to cough a little to relieve the pain my chest but it seems to do nothing.

Brushing a stray curl out of his face, I try to understand, "So everyone has a Dudley?"

He nods with great solemnness, "Their Dudley is Mason. Yours is her."

Blood freezes in my veins.

How the fuck could he have possibly known that?

He notices the stiffening of my expression, "You get that look on your face, the same one Aunt Petunia gets when she looks at Dudley but you look a lot sadder, like mommy when she goes outside to look at the roses." He touches my hand, it was only then did I realize I was shaking.

"You don't know anything." My voice cuts through the air with a hiss.

I can hear my blood rushing in my ears, "Don't compare me to your psycho mom." He stares me down and this makes my blood boil. I stand up and walk away from him, unable to stand the knowing look in his eyes before I paused after seeing his expression.

His lips were trembling slightly and his eyes were so wide that I can make out the individual flecks of grey within them. He bites his lower lip in an attempt to compose himself but I can see tears gathering in his eyes, making them shine in an unearthly hue. A stabbing sensation rips through my chest when I'm struck once again by how much they look alike.

"I knew you didn't like me." He quietly whimpers before getting up and running out of the room, Rabi still in his arms. I can hear his footsteps as he rushes to go upstairs, probably in one of the bedrooms.

The harsh silence that came afterwards just made me feel even worse.

I kick the fridge hard enough to make a dent, "Fuck."

Pulling my hair harshly and pacing around the room, I start to growl progressively louder until I'm almost screaming, "Fuck. Fuck! FUCK!" I pick up the bowl we used to mix the batter in and threw it at the oven, it warped the bowl but didn't do anything to the oven. The clang of metal as the bowl hit the ground brought my attention back to reality.

I stared at the ruined fridge and then looked at the bowl before I ran my hand harshly through my hair. Nearly tearing out some of my roots, I try and calm down.

You're such a fucking bitch.

I sit heavily on the floor by the oven, my back to the counters.

You're an absolute piece of shit.

I put my head in my hands, not really knowing what else to do.

Maybe this is a good thing. I have to raise my head at the methodical cold thought in slight surprise.

He might go to his parents now. He's been too attached to you for the last week. I think back on all the times he's depended on me and how I let him basically let him insist on spending way more time with me than was necessary. I mean yeah, I should keep a close eye on him to prevent a massacre but I shouldn't be brushing his hair, washing him, and letting him sleep with me.

I did it the first night because I was terrified that James and Lily were going to come back and fuck with my mind. It was more survival instinct that I kept Harry with me even if I was also worried that something would happen to him if I wasn't there.

Taking care of him just came naturally. It was an attempt to remain sane in this new changing world by recreating the things I used to do with her. But I probably ended up just confusing him by treating him like that.

I let him get too dependent on me. I probably shouldn't have read to him all the time; I just figured that I had to read the books anyway to get an idea about this world and I might as well clue him in while making him a little more prepared for school. Now he sees me as the only one that can help him with anything and I fucking messed up with that.

Oh God, how the fuck am I going to get him to accept Lily and James now that he's clinging to me?

I rub my forehead when I realized how badly I fucked up everything.

I need to shove him back to Lily and James before this becomes permanent. Yeah, permanent… like how she just bought me a fucking house and basically assigned me to take care of her child.

I glare venomously at the door leading to the dining room.

No matter how you look at this, they're planning on keeping me here for a long time. I should've realized this by the way they hedged whenever I ask them when I'm going home but they might actually keep me here for years.

I feel all the blood drain from my face as I realized how fucked I truly am.

I'm a threat to them and their society, they don't want to kill me and have went to great lengths not to. But their only solution to that is to trap me here to be a live in nanny for their psychotic kid.

The fucking potions room, the library… They made that for Harry for when he goes to school. This is going to be _our_ house when Harry goes to school, maybe until the end of his education. Oh my fucking God, do they even intend for me to go home at all? They just expect me to babysit their kid until I'm no longer needed and then finally look into getting me out of here?

I stand up quickly and try not to go upstairs to beat the shit out of them.

Clenching my hands, I breathe rhythmically until I've calmed down.

No. You're overthinking this.

James definitely wants me to get out of his life. He doesn't want me anywhere near Harry and even thinks I'm some sort of weirdo that just wants to be around his kid. So he'll definitely try anything to get me out of here, I won't be here forever.

I just might be here while Harry's at school, which may be like a decade. I mean, the Potters are a bunch of blue blood bastards, they probably want Harry to go to the equivalent to college around here. Meaning I'll be here until he's twenty two and I could fucking die before that'll happen.

The kid makes me nervous, despite his innocence the whole fucked up Potter situation.

He ripped out the eyes and killed his roommate. He may have had a legitimate excuse and his mom raised him that way but I don't want to stay and keep an eye on this kid for life, praying he doesn't try again. He's had six years of systematic brainwashing and abuse by this woman, there's no way I can make a dent in that. If I tell James and Lily, he'll go to a psych ward or they'll ignore me and he'll end up killing someone.

So even if I leave, I'm going to be responsible for a lot of people's deaths, maybe even my own.

Sweat forms on my forehead when I remembered that Harry is one of them.

He can use magic, and he'll probably get to the same level as the rest of these people. Considering they can travel around continents in a few seconds by a dime, he'll be able to destroy maybe thousands of people and no one will be able to catch him unless there's a wizard that can find him.

Calm down Nico.

He's not even at that level yet, and Ollivander said that he may take a while longer than other wizards. And he's the scrawniest little thing that I've ever seen. He's the size of a five year old and even if he is freakishly strong, I still have a big advantage in height and weight with him. Lily and James are already full-fledged wizards plus they have Gandalf and greasy hair guy so Harry isn't going to be able to kill them and escape anytime soon.

I just don't want him to even try because then I'll be alone with these people and be worrying about the kid constantly. The main thing I should be worrying about is how I'm going to get out of here without leaving a murderous psychopath in this world.

If I push him on James and Lily and mend their relationship then he might become a functioning human being. I mean, they aren't terrible people. They obviously care for the kid and he really needs that kind of love and attention that you can really only get from a parent. It's just they're really fucking awkward around him.

I get it, they don't know the kid and Harry isn't exactly the most cuddliest child. They don't know what to do with him and all I really need to do to fix that is push them together for some quality time with me mediating.

My eyes widen as I remember Harry's blood thirsty expression when he realized James and Lily were his parents. I have no doubt that if I hadn't held him back, he would've tried to kill them. Yeah, I have to do it in a way that doesn't push Harry over the edge.

Which means I should be close to him right now so I can convince him to go with his parents. And, a sharp pain digs its way in my chest while I remember Harry's expression before he ran out of the room, I need to make up with the kid.

No, you're getting out of here.

You're not going to let the kid walk all over you and cling to you forever. Even if you feel like the worst person in the world. It's not like you're abandoning him, you're just pushing him onto a more qualified person… that have already fucked him up in irreparable ways… Nope, it's not abandoning him.

You'll make sure James and Lily have the skills to deal with Harry and have enough love for him so this can work and then you're getting out of here and never going to work in a Juvie as long as you live.

Yes, go team.

I start to trudge upstairs, already having doubts about this plan. I really hope the kid doesn't hate me already. He probably should after the way I yelled at him and made him feel like shit. I snap back to reality when I realized I've been standing outside the only closed bedroom door for the last few seconds. Sighing, I push it open and immediately spy Harry sitting in the closet while whispering to Rabi.

I clear my throat and his head whips around the glare at me with red swollen eyes.

"Go away." His throat must be absolutely raw considering the croak he just produced. I actually winced imagining how much that had to have hurt. Don't cuddle him, stay strong just apologize and move on but don't make him dependent on you again.

"Look, kid." I scratch the back of my neck, "I didn't mean to yell at you before. I just… I just don't deal with talking about her that well." His eyes are trained on me while I stumble around my words but he doesn't interrupt me.

Encouraged, I try to explain, "I just don't like to talk about her and whenever anyone mentions her, I get pissed off ok? It wasn't you, it was all me." Oh God, it sounds so fucking corny.

"I mean," I stammer a little, "I'm sorry." I finish somewhat lamely.

It's stone dead silent for the next few seconds.

I can't read his face. It's just like a mask and all he does is stroke Rabi while staring at the floor. Maybe I fucked up too much, maybe this plan was doomed from the start. At least he doesn't seem angry, he just looks devastated. Oh God, don't do it Nico. Don't you dare fucking do it.

Walking over to the kid, I crouch and reach over to give him a one sided hug.

Goddamn it, this is just a hug it's not an invitation to keep clinging to me. It's just comforting him and trying to make him feel better.

He curls up and buries his face in my apron, sniffling in such a pitiful way that I had to rub his back. Because I'm not a complete fucking dick ok?

"You don't like me anymore." He bawls, Rabi hops away giving me a, 'good luck' sort of look. The kid tries to say something else but it's incomprehensible with him sobbing this hard. I need to stick with the plan but I can't have the kid thinking I hate him.

"Just because we had one fight doesn't mean I don't like you." He rubs at his already swollen eyes roughly. I gently pull his hands away and brush the hair out of his face.

Shit, I freeze when I realized what I just did.

That's what I used to do with her whenever she cried. I can't act like I did with her around him when I don't know what else to do. But she's really my only experience comforting children so I'm really stuck with using her as a guide.

Ignore it Nico, just press on.

"I-," Cue ridiculously loud hiccup from the kid, "I want you to like me." My shirt is now covered in his snot and tears and it just keeps coming.

"I don't want you to hate me. You're the only one nice to me." He blows his nose on my apron and I just take it off so he can use it as a tissue.

"What about Lily?" I try to broach gently, "She gave you all that stuff yesterday." He glares venomously at me, too soon Nico.

"That's only because she feel guilty." What, "She doesn't actually like me." He stares at me with disbelief, as if he's wondering how I haven't notice. Meanwhile I'm reeling with what he had to say because I don't know if he's delusional or way more perceptive than I gave him credit for.

"She wants to be a good mom. I'm living proof that she's not. She's trying to fix that by giving me a lot of things and pretending she wants to like me but she doesn't." He says this so bitterly that I'm taken aback. I look deep into his eyes and see old anger and resentment. This isn't about Lily, not really.

"Are you sure about that?" I wipe his face with a clean part of my apron.

He snarls at me, "You don't believe me."

I sigh, "That's not it. She probably is guilty about leaving you and is trying to make up for it. But thinking she's a great mom and all that? How do you know that?" I give him a gentle look which seemed to calm him down a little.

"Because that's how Aunt Petunia was like." He spat the word 'aunt', "She always cared about how she looked to the neighbors. Always staring over the fence whenever I was outside weeding the garden so the neighbors wouldn't see." His eyes were dark with memories.

"But out in public," He swallows roughly, "Out in public, she absolutely loved me. Oh look at my poor nephew that my whore sister dropped off. Aren't I just the best person?" He punches the wall sharply making Rabi and I jump. The creature is just a spectator in the dark corner of the room. It does seem concerned with its owner's rage though.

I don't know what to say. She never had any old resentment towards her mother so I have no experience with this.

I reach out to brush tears from his face with the apron, "How do you know she's like that?" I whisper.

He spits, "Because Aunt Petunia says she's a crazy freak whore that is lazy and entitled." He says it with no hesitation as if he's heard it a thousand times.

This I know how to deal with.

"And is your Aunt Petunia always right?" I just have to turn his displaced anger back to the original source.

He gapes at me, "No, she's always wr-." Now he looks pissed that I managed to make him admit it.

"You should give them a chance. They are trying." He opens his mouth to scream again but I cut him off.

"Your aunt might be wrong about them. Hasn't she always been wrong?" I know it sounds childish to just parrot it back to the kid but I'm trying to reason with him and logic doesn't seem to be working.

He screws up his face in a constipated looking way. I'm actually afraid he's going to have a stroke with the way he's changing colors. I'm half tempted to reach out but restrain myself because I've already over stepped myself too much today.

"Yes." He hisses, "But that doesn't mean I want to go with them." His luminous emerald eyes trained on mine and I froze.

His eyes were so cold and malicious that I could hardly believe this is the same kid that was crying a few minutes ago. He tilts his head to look at me in a reptilian like way.

"You don't get it." He snarls, "I don't need fake people." He looks at me like he was staring into my very soul.

And then, a switch goes off and his sweet vulnerable expression is back. He stares at the floor petulantly, "Why can't I just go with you?"

…

Ok, moving on from… whatever that was. I'm going to try and not piss off the kid anymore than I already have.

"Because I can't take care of you kid. I'm not a wizard and you need one to function in this world." There make it seem like you just can't take care of him rather than you're rejecting him.

"If I wasn't a freak this wouldn't be happening." His quiet despairing voice echoes throughout the room.

I pause when he says that though and in my hesitation he crawls on my lap and buries his head in my neck. Damnit, well it's too late now.

Well he's not wrong. If he wasn't a wizard then we wouldn't be in this mess. I wouldn't have been dragged away, he would have lived with his parents, and probably been just a normal child. Not that I can tell him that though.

"You're not a freak. You are a wizard." He hiccups loudly in my ear and all I can think to do is rub his back.

"I'm a freak even around freaks." His voice is muffled but I managed to make that out.

My knee jerk reaction was to say, "No, you're special." God that sounds really corny, "You're just different, nothing wrong with that." He glares at me, clearly thinking I was bullshitting him.

"Kid, Ollivander said that you're just like most kids outside of Europe. You're just a little different here." He seems to consider my words and it's silent for a few minutes. He plays with my headband and sucks his thumb while staring at the wall.

I sigh, this is not going according to plan. He's already attached to me again and I'm going to have to get the Potters involved with this somehow or we'll be back to square one. It's not like I can just carry him upstairs though and toss him at them. I could mention to Lily how Harry is feeling and she'll be extra nice to him though. I doubt James has the emotional sensitivity to deal with this issue.

"Come on, let's get washed up." I pull him to his feet, taking great care not to just carry him again and lead him to one of the two bathrooms.

I do like this house even if it basically is a prison but hey, it's a nice prison. The rooms are decently sized, only slightly smaller than the bedroom at the Manor. The bathrooms are a Victorian style, claw footed tub and everything. There's a large ornate mirror on the wall behind the marble counters that had a sink built into it. The toilet was between the counter and the tub, thankfully there was a shower head in the wall.

I gesture for the kid to wash his face in the sink and he does so pretty clumsily. He manages to splash water all over the counter but hey, he did it. Realizing we had no towels, I just decide that air drying is ok.

He lifts his arms up at me expectantly. Shit.

"No kid, you can walk on your own." I try and let him down as gently as I could but that didn't seem to work.

"I-." Hiccup, "Want a hug." Go upstairs to your parents, child. They would gladly give you as many hugs as you want. Why am I the replacement teddy bear?

I pick him up and cradle him, rocking him back and forth as I did so. He seems to calm down and just leans his head against my chest. I realized after a few minutes that he must be listening to my heart. This is dangerous.

I place him back on the ground quickly and he starts bawling his eyes out again. I scramble to get him to stop crying but he just keeps on lifting his arms up and hiccupping. Oh God, please stop crying.

While I'm freaking out, I hear knocking downstairs. Both of us pause at the noise.

More knocking ensues, "Harry! Come out of there! I want to show you something." James' voice carries up the stairs and it makes the kid cry even more.

"I don't want to." His face is bright red and irritated so badly that there's no way James won't notice so I'm half tempted to say he doesn't have to. Knowing him, he's probably going to think I'm abusing the kid.

Let's just hope that he doesn't mention it.

"Ok kid, just don't cry. We'll read the books today." Lily had left all the school supplies in the library, still in the expanding bag. Harry seems to struggle with himself but stands up and rubs his eyes. Rabi blinks up from the floor before thumping away to some forgotten corner in the house. The kid seems lost without the rabbit and decides to cling to me in its place.

I sigh and pick him up, mostly to get him to stop crying. It's just not worth the fight right now.

We both steel ourselves before going upstairs.

James is waiting there impatiently; he seems to be annoyed with my presence. Since I'm already irritated with getting emotional today, I just glower at him. He looks us up and down, noting my attire and our disheveled appearance. I feel my expression deepen when he smirks at my headband.

Fuck you, I didn't want to get hair in the cookies.

Then, the dreaded moment happens. His eyes are focused on Harry.

The kid looks positively pitiful with his bright red face and tear marks still visible. He's making snuffling noises that are somewhat muffled as he's still trying to bury his face in my chest. All I can do is stand there awkwardly as I watch the panic form on James' face.

Huh, I guess he's not good around tears. At least he isn't freaking out like I thought he would.

"I want to teach Harry how to play Quidditch." He says weakly, not seeming to know how to deal with his situation so he's just sticking to his initial plan.

Harry seems to be doing an impression of an ostrich as he buries his face in the crook of my neck. James posture slumps over slightly and I can't help but be amazed at how quickly he gets discouraged.

He just kind of stares at Harry with desperation. Oh my God, he's such a useless fuck. I have to do everything for him don't I?

"He'd love to." I try to say with some conviction.

And that's how we ended up in the living room; James seems to have put a lot of thought into the lesson considering he brought a large page of parchment and quills. A medium sized case, that rattles slightly, sits by his leg. I stare at it dubiously but don't say a word. Harry immediately went for my lap when I sat down on the opposite couch, James opens his mouth to protest but thinks better of it.

I resituate the kid and get into a comfortable position, judging by the tenacity that James has been pursuing this, it's going to be a long day.

James glances at Harry still irritated face with concern before continuing.

He spreads out the parchment on the coffee table before bringing out a quill, "Now, I wanted to bring you both outside to the stadium but it's chilly outside today and Lily doesn't think that's a good idea." Oh, I guess the stadium doesn't have the magic heating system that Diagon Alley and the Manor does. Wait, does that mean they play in the winter? Like in this weather? And why the fuck do they have a stadium?

I glance out the window to see the outline of the mentioned place in the backyard, if you could even call it that, more like a forest. One thing I've noticed about England is that there seems to be more frost than snow, unlike America which has blizzards regularly. Still, I wouldn't want any kids playing out there.

Scratching sounds turn my attention back to James, who has drawn a crude rendition of a football looking field but instead of the goal, there were three hoops on either side. The lines under the hoops seem to indicate three different heights, he even took the time to draw out what appears to be a lion and a snake on the opposing sides.

Why those are important, I don't know.

He pushes up his glasses, "So there are two teams of seven players in Quidditch." He makes fourteen little stick figures in the middle of the field.

Reaching below him, he opens the case by his feet and the rattling becomes more violent.

He brings out a soccer ball sized red ball, "This is a quaffle." Holds it out in emphasis to Harry, "The chaser, that's what I was, tries to gain points by throwing this into the hoops." He places the quaffle on the table, "Every time you score, that's ten points. There are three chasers in a team." Oh this is kind of like soccer.

"When do they start playing?" I raise my hand. James looks slightly annoyed by my question but answers it with minimal bitching.

"The school teams start at 12 years old and stop at around 17 or 18." What.

He breathes through his nose in a short burst before continuing, "Now the keeper, there is only one on each team, tries to stop the other team from scoring."

Keep it cool Nico, it's just like soccer. At ridiculous heights. And on a broom that flies around and they could easily fall off… But soccer essentially.

I try not to imagine Harry falling and breaking his spine as I tighten my grip on him slightly and adjust him so that his arms are around my neck. I run my hand through his curls and breathe deeply.

James brings out a small baseball bat, "This is what the beaters use, there are two on each team, to hit the bludgers away from their teammates." Wait, what.

I cough to interrupt him, "Why are they hitting it away from their teammates? Does that mean the beaters are just hitting it back and forth?" Like are the bludgers floating? Probably are considering they're flying but does that mean you have to hit it to move them or…?

James makes a huffy noise that's almost a snort, "No the bludgers are spelled to chase after players, indiscriminately. The beaters have to bat it away from their teammates to defend them. Only Slytherins try to aim it at people, that's a foul by the way."

And that's how we got here.

I consider Harry.

This child is literally the size of a five year old. He'll weigh less than anyone else on the team and this idiot wants to pit him against kids that are almost adults. Kids that are probably close to my size and they're going to be aiming things at the kid's head while he's flying around trying to catch a golden walnut.

Why the fuck isn't there separate teams for little kids, like little league or something? Who the fuck thought this was a good idea to place little kids against people that are nearly adults?

I try to imagine the behemoths that Harry will be up against.

There's just no comparison, they'll have two feet on him at least and probably one hundred and fifty pounds bigger. I mean seeker just catches the walnut so it's not like he'll be facing them directly but knowing sports, he'll probably be the one everyone will aim for. There's no way everyone will fight fair and Harry's so little that he can be knocked off pretty easy, they could just say it was an accident and everyone will believe them.

He'll be crushed and end up at a hospital. This is basically an extreme form of football and I'm sure there's safeguards but I'm still not comfortable with letting the kid get seriously hurt out there just so James can relive the glory days.

The man is obviously a die-hard fan. God, he's looking at the parchment with such reverence that I bet this guy goes to every game, even the school's despite not playing in years. He probably dresses up in his old team's colors like one of those obese middle aged men wearing wife beaters that took off work. Who the fuck still goes to their high school's games I don't know but they are pretty much losers. People who don't have any other thing to live for but their old days of fame and still will tell anyone on the street about that infamous pass they made twenty years ago.

Bearing this in mind, I'm probably going to get an extreme reaction from James if I interfere and I'm wondering if I should just let him go on or do something.

I get it.

He wants to bond with Harry but can't he pick something a little less violent? Like reading to the kid or teaching him magic or really anything else. Can't he wait before putting on the school team, at least until Harry is at a decent size?

I cautiously raise my hand and James seems to be losing his already fraying temper.

"What." He doesn't even pretend to be nice at this point.

"Harry's a little too young for this." I lift up the kid slightly to prove my point. It's honestly like holding a sack of flour and I make sure to give James a pointed look as I did so.

He doesn't seem to get my implication and scowls, "He's fine, Mason is playing."

I frown, seriously?

"Mason is a foot taller and about forty pounds heavier." James seems to somewhat get what I'm talking about.

He pulls out what looks to be his wallet, "Harry was even better than Mason on his first broom." He unfolds the wallet to reveal about ten pictures that were all moving and were black and white. He points to the first one. The angle of the picture tells me that whoever took this was sitting down or on their knees.

A chubby toddler Harry is sitting on a miniature broomstick and zooming in and out of the frame. His cheeks were dimpled as he screeches with laughter. I can see an exasperated cat lunging out of the frame as he nearly runs it over. Lily is standing in the background holding Mason, she looks so much carefree and smiles warmly at her son.

The furniture of the background is very homey, not like the sophistication of the Manor. It almost reminds me of a cottage, which makes me wonder if they ever lived somewhere else or vacationed when the kids were younger.

It was all heartwarming and all, until I realized that Harry is piloting the broom. At one, when he can barely walk. And I can see him almost hit his head on the corners of the tables. Not only that, but he almost crashes in the wall every two seconds.

Why did that seem like a good idea?

I'm about to say something but then I looked at the other pictures.

A toddler Harry beginning to walk on unsteady legs. You can only see the side of James' face but his hair is pretty distinctive. He reaches out to catch Harry and you can see the pure joy on his face as the toddler giggles.

An infant Harry in a sky blue crib fast asleep. A stuffed black dog is held in his arms.

Harry with an enormous red and gold cake that dwarfs his head. I can see a row of hands clapping enthusiastically as the kid manages to blow out a single candle. The baby looks around, happy that other people are happy for him.

Harry dressed up in a deer costume. It's a little bit too large for him and the hood sags, covering his face slightly. The pointed ears are drooping as he reaches for a small pumpkin. His face screwed up with determination.

All of the pictures are of Harry.

Every last one.

And this man carries them with him every day.

I look down at Harry to see his reaction to his father's collection.

His face is almost entirely blank but his eyes are glowing slightly. He considers the pictures with great skepticism, his mouth twists slightly into a frown of concentration. He seems to have reached a decision though and his eyes harden slightly before he buries his face in my chest. I can feel his hands fist my shirt tightly before snuffling slightly.

I look at James with new eyes and I've made a decision.

This is a school team so Harry will probably have to try out to even get a chance to play. He's not even allowed to try out until he's twelve and he might not even get on the team at all. No coach will look at this kid and say how perfect he'll be for such an intense game.

This is a good way for James to bond with Harry and I'm not going to ruin it for them.

"You guys won't be playing with bludgers for a while right?" I say softly.

James, who has been looking at his son, snapped out of it to say, "Of course not. Not until he gets to know the game a lot better." I sigh a little in relief.

The way James is staring at his son with such desperation makes me want to act.

"So Harry, what kind of position do you want to play?" I nudge the kid slightly.

He lifts his face up, "It doesn't sound fun." He says sullenly. His eyes are still dark with emotion and you can tell he's just going to be obstinate today. Dammit child, work with me.

"I don't know, seeker sounds pretty fun." I try and get him interested but he just stares at me blankly. At least he's not hostile.

James looks grateful that I'm trying to help him out but he looks wounded that his kid isn't interested in something he clearly loves. I give him a pointed look and gesture to Harry.

He seems to get it and tries to ignite Harry's interest, "There's other positions! I just thought you'd be good at seeker but you can play anything." He smiles and tries to catch Harry's eye but fails.

"Beater." Harry's quiet voice carries throughout the room. James and I blink with surprise before focusing on the kid's face.

His eyes are glowing slightly but almost have a maniacal look about them. His teeth are bared in something resembling a smile but it's more a snarl. It was the smile of a shark right after it smelled blood.

"Beater." Harry repeated with a calm voice.

Fuck.

James just looks concerned with Harry being interested in a position that required brawn. You can tell that he doesn't think Harry will ever be able to make it on the team if he sticks with that idea but he also just looks happy that he managed to get the kid interested.

Meanwhile, I'm freaking out about Harry being in the sky, with a bat, aiming a dodgeball at people, and having very little restrictions. This was a terrible idea, I should have just been happy with seeker at least it's not an offensive position. I'm pretty sure that there will be blood and the kid could manage to make it look like an accident.

Before I could bring up my concerns with James, Lily's voice carries from the direction of the kitchen, "Lunch is ready." I can smell the herbs and spices in the air and my stomach growls. I hadn't eaten breakfast and I can tell Harry was aware of the fact judging by the ravenous expression on his face.

Still feeling sick with the idea of Harry being around potential victims, I watch James start to clean up the parchment calling to Lily that we'll be there soon. I decided that I should just head over before Harry starts whining.

I set him on the floor. He stares at me with such a shocked expression on his face as if to say, 'You're still on this?' He is in disbelief and keeps on looking at me as if waiting for me to say, 'just kidding' and pick him up.

I ignore the kid and start walking over to the direction of the dining room. After a few seconds, I can hear the pitter patter of his footsteps frantically trying to catch up with me. Feeling a small hand enclose mine, I look down and see Harry giving me a truly petulant expression on his face. His face turns analytical as he stares intensely at my own. I ignore him and turn back to look ahead.

I trudge over to the dining room with him in tow, passing Mason who's glaring at us from the front room's stairs. His expression is sour and he glances at the living room where the parchment and Quidditch case still is. He turns back to us and sneers.

Well fuck you too little brat.

I just high tail it over to the dining room before he can say something nasty.

When I entered the room, I guide Harry in his usual seat, in between his mother and I. James usually sits next to me at the other end of the table while Mason sits across from us. It's an awkward position but it's really the only way we can eat dinner without having an argument.

Harry glances up at me, "You'll come see me?" He twists his hands in his lap while biting his lip.

I have to swallow hard when I see how self-conscious he is.

"Of course I will." I pat his head, just please don't kill anyone.

James enters the room with a newspaper tucked under his arm. He looks truly annoyed about something but thankfully it wasn't directed at me. A heavy thud resounds around the room as he slams the paper on the table before taking his seat.

I look over to see the front page, curious how the wizard world receives news.

The front page was a black and white picture of me carrying Harry. Both of our eyes are glowing from the flashes. I was glaring into the camera and Harry was trying to hide his head in the crook of my neck; you can see my tattoos sneaking out of the too short sleeves.

God, I look so suspicious holding the kid. It almost looks like a hostage situation. My expression so doesn't help, my jaw is clenched and the veins on my neck are bulging a little.

I place Harry on the middle seat and sit between him and James. Picking up the newspaper, I start to read. I laugh a little when I read the headlines.

 **Lily Potter Has a Lover?**

Now my readers, this reporter was lucky enough to witness the Potter's momentous occasion of shopping for Mason Potter's first year at Hogwarts. However, imagine my surprise when another child was accompanying them with this chiseled man.

Now, both the Potters claim that this man is just a relative of Lily Potter but then why the secrecy surrounding him? Lily's sister, Petunia Dursley, was seen on a few occasions by eyewitnesses as well as Rose Evans, their mother, before her passing. But there has never been a mention of Nico Yates!

Why would they hide him from the public?

Although the Potters have been secretive over the last ten years, they still made some appearances around the world, presumably on vacation and neither of them were seen with them. Maybe there was another reason for that besides the lingering Death Eater concerns?

The charming child traveling with the Potters, Harry, is obviously Mr. Yates' son. Harry was often seen in the man's arms and I even witnessed a very touching scene of them eating ice cream alone at Florean's (pg. 18). They even have the exact shade of bewitching green eyes.

But why introduce them now?

Is Mrs. Potter hiding an affair with this man and had this child? Is that why they introduced him now? So that they can transition him into Hogwarts smoothly disguised as a legitimate child? Or is there something more to the story?

This reporter will do her best to deliver the truth to the public.

 **Rita Skeeter**

A red lip print was at the bottom of the article and I just lost it.

"Do you think this is funny?" James grumbles at me.

I smirk, "It's such gossip rag. I mean, it looks all professional and everything but I've seen the same type of stuff in a women's health magazine." The paper looked like any other official newspaper.

The fonts were typical bland but bold and there was other articles concerning economics and current movements, but the fact these people decided to put this article on the front page with "Minister Fudge, new policies about education." Side by side was hilarious. Do they not have any other paper?

Harry pokes my arm, "What's it say?" He pouts his lip out and squints at the paper. His brow furrows as he tries to process the words but it's still too out of his level.

"Nothing kid." Guess, I should have expected this. Harry just kind of showed up out of the blue with me. The Potters didn't exactly release an official statement so of course they assume Harry and I are related. I'm not going to put any more ideas in the kid's head though, might as well keep him unaware of this.

I scratch my chin, feeling the coarse hair.

Shit, forgot to get some razors. I guess I'll ask Lily.

Harry moves a little in his seat and I look over. His expression is unreadable again but his eyes are glowing ever so slightly.

I reach over and tap his nose, "Don't worry about it kid. It'll blow over soon." He glares at the table as I said this and I can't help but feel bewildered by his actions. I open my mouth to ask him why he's so upset but then Lily bustles in with floating plates of food and cutlery, Mason following behind her.

The empty plates and the utensils float over to us and are placed by an invisible hand in front of us. The plates of foot situate themselves over on the table and Mason and Lily sit at their seats.

Lily looks over to her fuming husband with a questioning look. He waves off her concern and begins to serve himself, signaling us to do the same.

The food looks amazing as always, makes me wonder if there's kitchen magic. Roasted potatoes, honey glazed ham, and steamed carrots are piled on my plate, guess she doesn't want me to go hungry. All of it is seasoned to perfection, she even took the time to garnish. Unfortunately, everyone seems to be ignoring the quality of the meal and is too wrapped up in their angst to appreciate it.

I pick up my fork and begin gorging.

I don't eat like a regular person. I just don't have time to politely eat the amount of food it takes to keep me alive. I can eat 12 chimichangas and still have room for ice cream; ain't no one got time for that.

Lily gives me her usual deeply concerned look as I manage to swallow three potatoes without chewing. Keeping eye contact with her, I begin to slowly chew. Giving her a sheepish smile with my cheeks puffed out with food, I feel that I'm forgiven.

It's a tense few minutes but I'm used to it. The only sounds were the clanking of utensils and chewing. There were a few furtive glances by all parties but I pretended I didn't notice.

Harry pokes my arm aggressively, "Nico, it's too big." He gestures to his slice of ham.

I raise my eyebrows.

What do you want me to do about that kid?

Harry looks at me with frustration, "Cut it." He demands imperiously.

Well, this is new. He's been doing just fine on his own. It's not like he doesn't know how to cut his own food.

I just give the kid an incredulous look which is triggering a temper tantrum. He makes a high pitched whining noise that gets progressively higher. His eyes start watering with crocodile tears and I narrow my eyes challengingly at him.

I know what you're doing, you little shit.

I turn back and start eating my food, completely ignoring him which triggers Harry to whine even higher than before.

He punches my arm aggressively which triggers Lily to protest, "Harry! Eat your food." It really doesn't hurt but Lily is right to intervene, unfortunately it seems to incite more rage. All I can do is sit there awkwardly and feel second hand embarrassment as Harry starts to cry hysterically and cling to me.

Then things really started to heat up when Harry realizes this isn't working and proceeds to shove his plate of food on top of my own. I stare at the kid blankly as he stares at me with a fury only an emotionally unstable tyrannical toddler could possess.

Do I really have to do this?

My answer came when I saw Lily and James' lost expressions. They truly didn't seem to know what to do which makes me wonder what they did when Ginger Fuck didn't behave. Then again, it could be because they don't want to alienate Harry and they don't know anything about him so they have no idea how to rebuke him gently.

Sighing I reach over and pull Harry up by his arm, "Come on."

I manhandle him until we're half way out the room, looking back I have to basically glare at Lily and James to get them to follow us.

"Stay in the room, Mason." Lily calls behind her, even though I doubt he'll listen.

They hurry and we end up in the living room with a squirming whining Harry, who looks to be plotting his parents and possibly my death in gruesome fashions. He slaps at my hands and stares at me with rage filled eyes.

"Harry, stop hitting him!" Lily earnestly tries to reason with the kid. Harry pauses turns to her with an eerily blank expression on his face.

"I'm not bothering him." His lips twitch slightly as if his expression was about to crumple. He looks over at me, with wide eyes as though to question if he was really bothering me.

I'm not entirely sure how to answer because the kid tends to be extremely fragile and I really don't want this situation to go downhill. This might be a turning point in his and his parents' relationship and I can't ruin it so I stay silent.

He shakes my arm aggressively, "Nico, I'm hungry." I don't respond beyond giving him a raised eyebrow. You know the way cats look at you when they push over your favorite mug? The carefully calculating and blank expression because they don't give a shit and they know what they're doing is wrong? That's the look Harry gives me as he bites my forearm harshly.

I wince slightly and glare at the kid, "OI." That's going to bruise in the morning.

They're both mortified. James reaches over and gives Harry a little swat on the butt in reprimanding way. Lily stares at her husband, dumbfounded, to which he responds by looking at her like a deer caught in headlights.

"James!" She hisses.

"What? He hits and he has to know he'll get hit back." He defends himself. And quite honestly, I think he shouldn't have to. It was a measly swat that could barely kill a fly and I remember getting the same from my mother when I misbehaved but this isn't an ordinary child. Harry's already shown signs of physical abuse in the way he flinches away from me at times and how quickly he resorts to violence.

Sure enough, I look over to see him staring at James in the most fucking creepiest fashion I've ever seen. His face was as blank as a doll but the unerring focus he had on James, like a cat focusing on a canary, was what was making me nervous.

"I'll kill you one day." He says conversationally and I reach over to clamp my hand on his mouth to prevent him from saying anything else.

James stares at him with horror and Lily with confusion. They both seem at complete loss of what to do with that statement and I don't blame them. I'm used to it after a week but they don't even have a clue before this.

"He's just upset." Good job Nico, stating the obvious.

Lily gives James serious stink eye after a few seconds of awkward silence. I think she's just going to ignore Harry's behavior for now, however I don't think James will. For some reason, he seems to be taking the kid's threat a lot more seriously and I'm getting a little nervous.

"Don't hit him." She says firmly and turns back to the kid. She seems slightly nervous, probably because Harry looks like a kid that goes home and microwaves his hamsters.

She clears her throat, "Harry, go sit upstairs. No dinner."

Harry doesn't even blink, "How about I stab you?" He tilts his head innocently and stares at his mother with bright eyes. Umm, ok this is not going to end well. Then, it hits me.

"Hey, he really should be given food. Just timeout and then we go back to dinner." The kid has been starved before, remembering the first time I met him, he expects to be starved. So of course, he's going to have a more severe reaction to having his food limited. He doesn't understand that it's only for one meal. He'll probably think they are going to treat him just like his previous guardians, he already thinks they'll treat him like his aunt.

Lily stares me down, her eyes are alight with slight betrayal.

"Mr. Yates, can I speak with you?" Jesus, her voice is such a mom tone that I want to say yes ma'am.

I leave Harry reluctantly, making sure to stare at him severely so he remembers our promise. I also keep the door of the kitchen open and make sure he's in my line of sight before turning to Lily.

"Mr. Yates," Shit. "I know you are close with my son…" I don't like the creepy things you seem to be implying lady, "But, I am his mother and I need you to… be less involved." You literally just told me to help you get the kid in a better place. Now you want me to back off?!

"Look, the kid is kind of sensitive about food." She tilts her head, "He was-," Don't say starved, "Not given a lot of it by his guardians and he'll probably freak out if you take it away." I try and be delicate about it but it just seems to confuse her even more.

"It's only for one night." She dismisses my concerns and turns around to go back in the living room. I can see in her eyes that she thinks what she's doing is right but I still feel uneasy about this. Looking over at the fridge, I try to make a quick decision.

I know Harry is going to freak out, like maybe homicidal rage way. And I don't know if I'll be quick enough to stop him, not only that but I feel uncomfortable leaving the kid without food because it might be an even bigger pushing point than I realize. He could be severely traumatized and this could cause him to have a really grim view of Lily and James. The question is, do I try and push it a little more with Lily or do I act on my own? I don't want to push our already pretty flimsy mutual agreement but I also don't want to make Harry suffer.

I reach into the fridge and grab an orange from one of its drawers, looking over my shoulder to see if anyone saw.

I'm just keeping it as backup if Harry freaks out and I can't reason with Lily. I already am well aware that giving Harry food will just get him overly attached to me again and be a setback in repairing the relationship with his parents. I don't want him to get the idea of us against them. But I also don't want him to think he's completely alone. I don't know what he'll do if he's completely pushed over the edge.

Walking out of the kitchen, I see that Harry's gone. I give Lily a questioning look.

"He ran upstairs." She sighs, I scrutinize her a little. There's bags under her eyes and I can see that she's bitten her nails to the quick.

I decide to give it another shot, "Look, you really need to give him food." I raise my hands defensively when she begins to freak out.

"I know what I'm doing with my son." Her teeth are gritted, "Please, just- just…" She stares down at her feet and I know when I'm defeated. James gives me a hard look as well and I feel that he slightly blames me for his wife's mood.

I'm not doing any good trying to explain to her, in my limited way. I sigh and head to the bedroom, passing and startling Ginger Fuck as I push open the living room door. He was leaning on it and obviously listening. I glare at him slightly before heading upstairs, already seeing the lid of the trunk open.

Knowing where he'll be, I head to what I consider his bedroom and sure enough, he's sitting on the floor with Rabi in his arms by the closet. He turns his head toward me and I already feel this is going to be a long conversation.

"Kid-."

"I hate them." This was not the statement of a child having a temper tantrum, this is a person capable of murder, planning his next victims. Shivers run down my spine and despite this, I have to press on and try to save this night.

I sit by him, orange still in my pocket, "It's just for one day. They'll give you breakfast in the morning." He stiffens when I try to pat his hair and I can't help but feel more trapped about this situation.

"No." The finality of that word seriously creeps me out.

Part of me wants to say, 'Knock off your psychotic bullshit and get over it. It's one night." But I'm treading on thin ice. I sit back when I realize something.

This is not her. Despite their resemblance, Harry is a completely different person with a completely different past. I can use tactics that I did with her limitedly, as they are still similar in many ways but ultimately I don't have the same bond that I did with her.

Harry barely trusts me as it is. He realizes that I do care about him but we've only known each other for a week. And most of that week was just me blindly taking care of him, as a way to numb the reality of my situation. I don't know how long he's going to think of me as an ally with me obviously siding with his parents. It may be all or nothing with this kid.

He may only be holding back from killing him because I told him what could happen. But what if he doesn't care about anything but revenge? I'm banking on his self-preservation instincts but he may not even have that. I don't know how twisted his mind is. He's not just a child, I should always remember that.

He could only be listening to me because he feels a bond with me but that could change very quickly if he starts thinking about me as an enemy. I came here to survive and I need to remember that that comes first.

Keeping this in mind, I bring out the orange from my pocket.

He jumps slightly at seeing it. His eyes locked on my own and I can see the skeptic look on his face. The icy expression doesn't abate and I have to wonder if I'm fucking everything up. Maybe I'm reading this wrong and I may be making everything worse but I place the fruit gently in his hands.

"Told you, I'd feed you." I give him a tense smile.

His eyes widen and the air becomes charged with that strange static feeling I've come to associate with magic. It doesn't feel hostile though and I'm slightly encouraged by it.

"You and me kid. We get out of this together." The words leave my mouth with a bitter taste. I barely have time before he launches himself at me. I grunt a little when I feel his bony body resituate itself on my lap. Rabi stares up at me with a slightly disgruntled look on his face.

Harry tears into the orange and cuddles himself on my chest. The next few minutes is spent in silence as he eats. He gives a section to Rabi and the animal eats it with slight cautiousness. I pat the kid's hair and try to calm down.

"Hey, let's read those books. How about that?" He smiles and I feel the tension leave the air. I know I'm back to square one, whether this is a good or bad thing I'll find out. We leave the orange peels on the floor.

We head downstairs to the library and I sit on the floor with him in my lap. Pulling out the bag, I bring the book of runes and transfiguration book out. I stare at them with a lost expression, not knowing which one we should start with. I feel uneasy giving this kid more power but I've already guessed that magic is way more dangerous untrained.

Harry's emotional outbursts already lead to some pretty dangerous situations. He'll only get stronger as he gets older and without control, I don't what will happen.

"Start with that book." I start a little and see Harry's small finger on the Transfiguration book. I turn to him curiously to see him giving me a determined look.

He adjusts Rabi in his arms, "The old man said runes are like tools. I should figure out what I need to do before trying and figure out how to do it." I blink slightly, feeling slightly stupid at the kid's logic.

I turn to the first page and see a picture of a match turning into a needle. It shows the middle stages of the transformation and I frown when I read, 'Exercise 1.' On the top of the page. I skim through the dense paragraphs and feel a headache coming on.

"Ok, so it says here that Transfiguration is the art of changing things from one object into another. So I guess you just rearrange the particles, atoms, of each object until it's what you want. These transformations are not permanent as that violates the laws of magic." Oh, I guess this is why they still have to buy clothes and stuff.

I look down at the kid, "I guess that means you have to transform a match into a needle kid. It says that you have to focus on the similarities and differences of the objects and visualize the transformation." Seems really weird, kind of like wishing something to come true but it must be how they explain it to beginners.

I crack my knuckles, "So let's find a Transfiguration rune I guess." I pick up the other book and start reading the first paragraph.

"Ok, so runes do not have the same definition in the muggle world as they do in the magical world." I make sure to have my finger follow along with the words so Harry can sort of 'read along'.

I clear my throat, "Runes in the muggle word refer to an ancient alphabet that is Germanic or Norse in origin. There are no Celtic runes in the muggle world, instead they believe ancient Celts used a language called Ogham." It's weird to this that this world has a completely different history, makes me wonder what else has been hidden from us.

"Runes in the magical world refer to a character that has been revealed using divination or by gods." What the actual fuck?

My voice trails off as I process the next paragraph, "An alternative name for runes is 'divine words' as it is said to be the language of gods. These characters channel magic both through the caster and the ambient or surrounding magic in the environment. They can be used in tandem with each other but only those compatible."

I have to sit back a little, just to clear my head for a moment.

Harry frowns at me slightly, "Why did you stop?"

"There might be gods." I've been an atheist my entire life so finding out that there may be something bigger is really weird.

His expression lightens, "Oh, Rabi says there's gods and I know he's right." What.

I give him a bewildered look, "Rabi talks…" Of course he does.

Rabi looks me in the eyes before sniffing loudly and turning back to curl up in Harry's arms. I swear that thing just rolled its eyes at me. Great, now it has attitude.

Fuck it, this is probably normal in this world anyway.

I take a deep long suffering breath before moving on.

"Every rune has its own planetary alignment, element, medium, and god that it is dedicated to. Learning these will ensure the user will be able to use the rune to its fullest extent." Jesus, no wonder the old man said this could take years.

Harry seems to be thinking the same thing and frowns severely.

I rush the reassure him, "We got a few months kid. We'll get some of this stuff down."

Turning to the back of the book, I find a handy index and find the word transform. Figuring this is the closest we can get to Transfiguration, I focus on that.

"Ok, so this rune is Nordic and is under the god of mischief, Loki. Loki has been known throughout history as having transformation powers and is often seen in many disguises. The element is water and the planetary alignment is the moon." It basically looked like an upside-down Y and I decided to ignore the other crap associated with the rune because it was twenty pages. I'll read it to him later when I'm feeling a little less drained.

I bring out a piece of paper and a quill from the bag, "So these things need to inscribed or just really close to the rune to work. You have to use certain magical conductors, such as metals, elements, (blood, I ain't telling him that bullshit.) or materials from magical animals. But writing it down on paper and creating a charging circle works to." I read through the front page and am kind of getting the idea through the pictures.

I place the paper in front of the kid and give him the quill, "Just draw a circle and the rune in the middle of it." He does so, taking great care to make it perfect. He rips the paper a few times, and ink goes everywhere so we have to start over. He's still not very skilled at quills.

Finally, we manage to get it and I have to dig around in the bag for a few minutes until I see something titled, Transfiguration kit. There seems to be a kit for every subject so that's kind of a relief. I dig around in the box kit and find a match which I place in the middle of the circle.

Harry stares at the thing like it stole money from him. The kid puts his hand on the circle and gets an expression on his face like he's taking a shit. This goes on for an hour and the kid just keeps trying, placing his hand on various spots of the paper, moving the match, and even moving off my lap to sit closer to the paper.

His face gets steadily more and more red as time goes on and I can tell he's about to lose it.

Before I can say anything, Rabi jumps out of the kid's arms and sits in front of the kid. It stares at us before giving a little dainty sniff and goes to sit in the middle of the paper by the match. The air becomes charged with static and I can almost feel something snap in the air, like something metal connected to the electricity. And then, shit really started to go down.

The circle around the rune started glowing. I'm talking about Jedi lightsaber glow stick type shit. It didn't have any color, just a bright light but it was still pretty freaky. I watch with fascination as the match feels to morph in indistinguishable shapes before settling on a needle. The circle stops glowing and I hold my breath as the static fades from the atmosphere.

It's silent for a few seconds. I sit there speechless.

Holy fuck, that was magic. Magic where Rabi was involved somehow but hell, it worked.

"Good job kid." I pat the kid on the back absentmindedly while staring at the needle.

I thought I saw something black on his hand but when I looked back, there was nothing. Deciding I was just hallucinating, I turn back and am confronted with an ecstatic Harry.

He throws himself at me and I can't help but smile when I see how happy he is. He cuddles into my chest and I watch Rabi give a self-satisfied sort of snort. And for a moment, I feel like everything is going to be ok. Maybe complicated as hell but I think things are going to be ok with Harry and me.


End file.
